Hurting
by Janettelle
Summary: Smile like you've never been hurt, and love like you never will. A story of two people who hurt, get hurt and continue to hurt long after flesh wounds have healed.
1. Arriving

**Summary: Gaara has got his heart broken, but can he love again? Can she mend his heart, while mending her own? Gaara X OC. Set before Chuunin exam.**

**Author's note: I know it's weird to set it before the chuunin exam, I have a reason for it. First time doing fanfic so I don't expect very good reviews. I try to keep the characters real and true to their personalitites, and I don't bother saying that "I don't own Naruto" because if I did, I would make more scenes on Gaara. D**

**

* * *

**

**Hurting**

_Everything was covered in red._

_No one was moving._

_Her kimono and hands were stained._

_Fearful eyes darted around the area._

_She watched Enzeru reach out._

"_Okaasan..." She whispered, tears flowing._

_Enzeru stared at her with hatred in her eyes._

"_Houseki..._

_...Bakemono!"_

_-_

Seki Raion looked out at the endless desert, her element blowing and scattering more and more sand on her clothes and hair. Said Genin ran her fingers through her cropped brown hair with orange highlights and walked a few meters before stopping again, this cycle continuing on for the next hour.

_Chikushou! Where the hell is Sunagakure?!_

Her ruby eyes scanned the dusty area, frowned slightly, and then she tried to brush off the white grains off her sleeveless polo t-shirt – the same color as her highlights – and her black ¾ pants, that hit her fishnet covered legs due to the strong wind. The left leg of her pants was adorned with an orange cat design and on the right was a strapped on kunai holster. Swinging her right arm over her shoulder, Seki reached for her bottle and finished the last drops of water with a groan. After throwing it back into the black sling bag she always carried, Seki set a determined look on her gentle features.

_Come on Seki! You can see sand now, Sunagakure shouldn't be too far._

_**The Land of the Wind is nearly, completely covered with sand.**_

_Shut up, who are you?_

_**I'm a voice in your head, just trying to keep you sane.**_

_I'm sane as it is, baka._

_**Oh right, I wouldn't want you insane.**_

_BAKA! That's crossing the damn line..._

_**I see people.**_

Seki snapped out of her reverie and looked ahead. Indeed, there was some form of human life up ahead, three, to be exact, the shortest one had particularly red flaming hair that made it easy for her to see. Seki squinted harder to see where they were going, just making out the gates of, thank heavens, Sunagakure.

_Yosh! I found it!_

Seki thought estactically, adrenaline pumping in her veins. She started to walk towards the Hidden Sand Village, ignoring the increasing amount of sand in her worn, traditional sandals. Seki's walk turned into a jog, then she was running, until finally she was practically sprinting towards the entrance gates of her uncle's home.

-

"I see someone coming," Kankurou noted as Temari showed the Sunagakure's entrance gate guards their passports. Temari turned to where her brother was pointing.

"Aa, it looks like a girl."

"No way, look at the short hair. It's a guy."

"Girls can have short hair."

"That's too short for a girl."

"Guys," Gaara interrupted softly, but cold nonetheless. Temari and Kankurou stopped talking. Gaara turned his teal eyes towards the fast approaching stranger, "I don't think she's going to be able to stop..."

The three sand siblings watched as the girl came closer and closer. Maybe it was the heat, the sand, or even her's exhausted mind, but Gaara predicted correctly and soon she came too close, too fast. So fast that she activated her wind shield half a second before she crashed into Gaara, who was closest to her...

...Just as the sand shield activated itself, to protect Gaara.

With a loud **BOOM**, the impact threw both teenagers almost 10 meters away from their original spot. Temari and Kankurou rushed to Gaara's side, while the entrance guards rushed to stranger's. Temari offered to help Gaara up, but the sand pushed him on its own accord. Gaara regained his normal breathing rate and slowly looked up at the cause of the impact. The brown headed girl gave the guards a reassuring wave and supported her arms on her knees. Then, she too looked up at Gaara after her heart rate dropped to normal.

-

"That was amazing. Her shield was able to overpower Gaara's."

"But, she was also thrown back," Temari said quickly as Gaara glared at Kankurou. Kankurou nodded his head and looked to the side, while Temari took the innitiative and walked up the new girl.

Seki watched the blonde haired girl stroll towards her, taking a mental note about her appearance as she tried to catch her breath. Her blonde hair was tied into four spiky ponytails and she was taller than Seki. She wore a white outfit with a red sashe around her waist that strapped a large fan behind her back. Fishnets covered her shoulders, right thigh and left lower leg, and Seki could see the forehead protector around her neck. She grinned as she saw the inscribed sand timer – the symbol for Sunagakure's shinobis – and stood up straighter as the blonde girl arrived in front of her.

"You're a Sand shinobi too?" Temari asked, refering to the forehead protector the stranger wore on her neck as well. Nodding, she thrust her hand forward and introduced herself.

"Hai. I'm Seki Raion, I live outside of the village, but came here a couple of years ago to take the academy exam."

"I see. I'm Temari. Those are my brothers, the one with the face paint is Kankurou, and the one with red hair is Gaara," Temari shook Seki's hand and gestured towards the two guys who were heading this way. Seki nodded slightly, scrutinizing every detail about the approaching teenage boys. Kankurou wore black all over, with a red and yellow circular symbol on the front. He carried on his back something that looked like a bandaged dummy, and had a headress that made him look like he had cat ears. Although it looked weird, the red head was the one that had drawn Seki's attention. Other than his flaming red hair, he had a red kanji 'Love' tattoo on the left of his forehead. He wore black as well, with fishnets revealing itself at his sleeves and neck line. He also had a white sash that went over a brown strap that helped him carry his gourd. Seki watched him walk up to her with an intense look in his eyes. His eyes, unlike his siblings, were teal coloured rather than black. It also had dark outlines that showed his lack of sleep, with the exception of Kankurou. Temari waited for the two before facing the guards that had been standing there, looking rather out.

"You two! Tell the Kazekage about this. He'll need to know there'll be an extra member of Sunagakure."

"Hai, Temari-sama," the two guards disappeared and Temari placed a hand on Seki's back to lead her in. Seki stared at Temari, "Wait, are you sure I can... How do you know I'll be staying?"

"Well, you did run all the way here, nearly knocking down Gaara..."

"She did, knock him down," Kankurou interrupted, earning yet another glare from Gaara, this time it looked almost murderous. Kankurou tried to hold his stare, but Seki could see the fear in his eyes. Seki blinked, feeling the animosity between the two boys while Temari tried to calm Gaara down. Seeing as it was futile, Seki made her own attempt to ease the tension.

"Erm, gomenasai, Gaara-sama. I didn't mean to do it."

Gaara whipped his head around and faced her, glaring with as much hatred as he could to a stranger. Seki didn't jump or shiver, instead she felt curious at what she saw in his eyes. It was, confusing. Gaara finally turned his back on her and said coldly, "I'm going for a walk."

"Ah, but Gaara..."

Gaara sent Temari a death glare, cutting her sentence short. He closed his eyes and soon disappeared in a whirl of sand. Silence ensued and Seki frowned at the spot she last saw Gaara. There was something about him that was so mysterious and, intimidating. She wondered what had happened in his past that made Temari and Kankurou fear him this badly. The two seemed to be the older siblings. Seki shook her head fiercely.

_Its none of my business. Its their private matters, I suppose. I shouldn't pry._

_**But you so want to, right?**_

_Righ... HEY?! What are you, coming here and putting words in my mouth?!_

_**I believe I said something about 'voice' and 'head'.**_

_Chikushou, just what I need, an annoying perky voice to tell me what to do._

_**I'll take that as a compliment.**_

"Seki-chan?" Temari's voice cut through Seki's thoughts. Seki looked at Temari shyly, apologizing for her behavior. Temari giggled and patted her shoulder.

"It's alright. I was just saying I know your uncle who lives here, Keimyou Raion. I assume you're here to see him?"

"Well, yes. Since you said I have permission to live here, I'm hoping to stay with him."

"Aa, well, if he doesn't let you, you're welcome in ours."

"Temari..." Kankurou warned. Seki looked at them, puzzled. Temari looked as if realization just hit her and bit her lip. Kankurou shook his head and muttered something about a 'karasu' before disappearing in thin air. The two girls continued their route to Keimyou's home, Temari still looking nervous.

"Ne, Temari-chan, thanks but I'm sure my uncle will let me. We're quite close."

"Oh, Hai," she replied, relieved.

-

_Gaara... He doesn't seem too fond of strangers..._ Seki thought to herself, recalling his cold and distant gaze at her when she first met him. She also thought about his sand shield. Usually, her wind shield would cushion any impact Seki had so that it could feel like a mere tap on the back. However, this was the first time the shield backfired. Had it not been the soft sand, Seki could have gotten injured.

_His sand was strong, not to mention he didn't look like he felt anything at all._

Seki frowned once again, oblivious to the fact that they had finally arrived at Keimyou's home. Seki's eyes widened as she saw Keimyou opening the door to throw some rubbish.

"Keimyou-san!" Keimyou's head snapped up at the familiar voice and Temari noticed the worried expression that crossed his face for a moment, before it burst into joy at the sight of his niece.

"Seki-chan! What a surprise! What are you doing here?"

"What, can't a girl visit her favorite uncle and sensei?"

"Sensei?" Temari inquired. Seki nodded and got out of the embrace she was in to explain, "Keimyou-san was my sensei, who trained me well enough to pass the academy exam when I was 10. After that, he opted to stay here, in Sunagakure," Keimyou nodded and thanked Temari for escorting Seki.

"Arigato, Temari-chan. You have a good night, tonight."

"Hai, Keimyou-san," Temari replied, smiling. She liked Keimyou for one reason, he understood Gaara's predicament and was probably the only one who didn't think he was a bakemono. If only Gaara would believe her...

"Arigato Temari-chan, for bringing me here!" Seki exclaimed happily, before she and her uncle went inside. Temari smiled, and turned to go home. A small frown showed on her face, revealing the confusion she felt when she saw Keimyou's worried look.

-

* * *

**Author's Note: Yup so how do you like my character? Before the exam right, so Gaara should be around 12. So is Seki.**

**p.s. Seki is short for Houseki, or Jewel. D**


	2. Night Travelling

**A/N:** Someone reviewed! Wow, haha. Anyway so I've decided to continue my story because even if I didn't get any reviews, the storyline in my head is too good to pass up.

**Jenvaati: **Thanks for reviewing! I added the voice in her head because it would add, yeah, humor. Seki won't be cheerful for long though, hope you stay to see why.

* * *

**Hurting**

Seki grinned as she walked around the house, surveying her new home. It was big, and had a lot of room due to Keimyou's lack of interest for any ornaments and decorative things. She went to her room and found a comfortable single bed beside the wall and a large teak wardrobe, although she had little use for it. Placing her sling bag on the bed, Seki wondered what her uncle would think if she sprayed her orange dye on the walls. She felt the plain, white walls and giggled as she felt sand.

_Well, I guess this is expected from the Sunagakure._

Skipping out to the kitchen where Keimyou was preparing dinner, Seki wondered aloud, "How come there's no one else here?"

"I'm a bachelor, Seki, and I plan to stay this way," Seki giggled as Keimyou smirked and brought out a pot of soup. Keimyou was never interested in a lot of things, especially women. He liked his simple ways of life and hated to change, which was why he left her tribe in the first place. He preferred the calm, peaceful life in Sunagakure.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Keimyou stopped resisting and asked, "Seki, why are you here?"

Seki's hand held a soup spoon that stopped halfway to her mouth. She kept her head low, not wanting to keep eye contact with Keimyou.

"It... happened. After I found out that Iwashi..."

Understanding dawned in Keimyou's dark red eyes and he too, lowered his head.

"Did anyone survive?"

"Yes, a few other members who were away on a trip."

"And...?"

"They... They chased me out," Seki finished so softly her uncle had to strain to hear her last words. Small tears dripped into her soup as Keimyou stood up and went around the table to comfort her niece. He placed an arm around her shoulders and gave her a reassuring smile.

"It's alright, I won't let it happen here."

Seki looked up at her uncle and whispered, "Really?" Keimyou nodded firmly and hugged the 12 year old. He could only imagine how long ago this had happened, and how much she had been through. No one deserved to lose their family this way. No one deserved to be alone.

_Not even him._

"Uncle?" Keimyou looked down at the brown haired girl. She had dried her tears and was smiling now.

"Yes, Seki?"

"Can I paint the walls of my bedroom orange?" Chuckling, Keimyou nodded slightly.

"Of course," he answered simply and let her walk back into the room, closing the door behind her. Sighing, Keimyou collected their bowls and headed to the kitchen.

_I wonder where she'll go tonight?_

-

Seki shivered a little as another cold breeze slapped on her skin. Her hair flew wildly while she sat atop the roof of her new home and admired the full moon. Smiling sadly, she knew Keimyou had expected her to travel around the village, since she always escaped at night when she was upset in her childhood. It was a habit she had developed out of concern when they told her about her problem. But she didn't feel like exploring the village tonight, she was tired after the journey to Suna, however not tired enough to fall asleep.

_Iwashi... Enzeru..._

A scream pierced the still air of the night, and shook Seki out of her thoughts. She frowned towards a lit restaurant where the source of the scream had come from. Deciding against her will, and following her curiosity, Seki leaped gracefully over rooftops towards the only light in the dark village. She stopped on a brown roof that overlooked the restaurant. Nothing seemed out of place, except for the lack of people.

_Strange. Won't people usually come out to find out what happened?_ Seki wondered and descended on the soft ground. Glancing around, she spotted something moving on the sand. She followed it to a dark alley, which was not a problem for someone like her. Seki heard the sound of someone whimpering, begging for mercy and crept closer. She quietly took out a kunai and armed herself against an invisible enemy.

"_Sabaku Sousou!_"

Seki's eyes widened as she turned a corner of the alley to see a man being crushed by a cocoon of sand. Blood suddenly splattered everywhere and the man's shouts of pain were cut short by his immediate death. Seki watched as sand moved to soak the blood on the ground and walls. She saw it raise in the air and enter a large, familiar looking gourd on someone's back. The moonlight revealed a guy with red hair.

"Gaara?"

The boy whipped his head around in surprise, but his eyes held something different. Seki had no time to wonder what it was as she felt sand circling both her calves. Jumping quickly, Seki tried to use her kunai to fend off the approaching sand. She back flipped away from Gaara, who was not moving at all and merely staring at her every move. Gritting her teeth, Seki stopped trying to run away and thrust her palm out.

"_Kaze no tate!_"

Gaara blinked as the sand seemed to bump into an invisible wall. Seki smirked and watched as the sand tried to penetrate her defense to no avail. She took a quick glance at Gaara, still maintaining his stance. Unnerved with his lack of reaction, Seki opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when she felt increasing pressure on her shield. The sand was still pushing against her wind defense, but Seki could not hold it much longer as more sand poured out of the gourd and added to the pressure. Seki clenched her other hand and struggled to keep her shield steady, but within seconds, it was broken and sand engulfed her as Gaara willed it to confine Seki in a cocoon of sand, similar to the one she saw just minutes ago, crushing an innocent man to death.

"Who are you?"

Seki looked down and tried to raise an eyebrow while gasping for air. _Doesn't he remember me?_

"Seki, Seki Raion. The girl from this afternoon."

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing," Seki choked as the sand squeezed even harder.

"You're lying."

"No, I..."

"You were trying to kill me, like the others."

"No, I... I'm not. I was... I was just passing by, god dammit!" Seki blurted out. Gaara's eyes narrowed. After a while, he released the sand's grip on her and let Seki drop to the ground, coughing for air. As he turned around to leave, Seki reached out a hand and scratched out, "Wait..."

Gaara stopped and waited for Seki to catch her breath. Seki braced her hands on her knees and looked up at the red head.

"What did you, 'like the others'?" Gaara didn't reply and started to walk again. Seki frowned, and ran up to him. "Hey! I was talki..." A sand barrier shot up to prevent her from grabbing Gaara's shoulders. Gaara turned his head and focused his teal eyes on her own red ones. He couldn't see it, the same look everyone in the village gave him.

The same fear.

"What?" Gaara asked. Seki blinked twice and let her hand drop to her side.

"What did you mean by 'others'? Are people trying to kill you?"

"Yes," was his short reply and he started to walk away again. Seki caught up with him and, taking care not to touch him in case the sand shot up again, asked, "Why? You were..."

Gaara jumped up to the roof top, and headed towards the tallest building in Sunagakure – the Kazekage office – with Seki following closely behind. Gaara turned his head so that he could just see Seki's wild brown-and-orange hair behind him. If he was surprised at how she could keep up with his speed, he didn't show it.

They finally arrived at the Kazekage office roof top, and Seki had to catch her breath again as Gaara went to sit at the end.

_Chikushou! He looks younger than me, but that was some wicked speed._

Seki slowly walked over to Gaara and sat beside him, this time his surprise showed on his face. Seki didn't notice though as she was still trying to get Gaara to answer her questions.

"Why do people want to kill you?"

"Because they hate me."

"Why? You were amazing back there," this time Gaara's expression turned into shock and he faced the girl beside him. The light from the moon made her hair look lighter, the blend of brown and orange turning slightly dark red, like her eyes. Seki felt his stares and turned to meet them. She saw disbelief and shock, grinned and turned back to face the village.

"You were. I wasn't horrified or anything. It's amazing how you can control the sand at will, and it even protects you without you knowing."

"..."

"I can control air, but I still need to activate my shield before it can protect me."

"Air?"

Seki looked at Gaara, surprised he had answered back. His eyes no longer held any intention of killing, so she smiled and opened her palm in front of him. After a few moments, the two of them could see wind circling the top of her palm like a halo.

"I can embed chakra into the air and create wind, since wind is moving air. I can also solidify it so that we can see it. It's my bloodline limit," Seki finished and turned the halo into a cat, which skipped on the roof top before disappearing. Seki locked her arms around her knees and placed her head on top of them. "But yours seem much better, plus you can control it so well."

"It's not my bloodline limit," came Gaara's reply. Seki turned her head and looked at him, puzzled. "It's not?"

Shaking his head slightly, Gaara looked away from Seki and the village. Seki waited for him to explain, but nothing came out. She wondered if this was personal and looked back at the village. The full moon shone, illuminating the roof tops of the many houses in a ghostly white. It was an eerie silence, but Seki felt calm. _This must be the peace Keimyou wanted_, she thought to herself.

-

She had to say something.

"I was hated too, by the people of my tribe," Gaara took a sideways glance at the girl beside him. Her orange top seemed to glow, along with the cat design on her pant leg. He resumed staring into the distance in front of him, as Seki continued, "I hardly had friends, and never stayed at one place too long because people would chase me away."

Silence.

"I was unwanted, unloved, my own family killed. But no matter what, I wanted to be a shinobi, so that people would see that I could be good."

Gaara slowly lowered his head. Seki's hands were shaking slightly, her voice barely above a whisper, "No one gave me a chance, though. Discriminated and shunned, even though I was a child."

"So was I, but I don't really have a choice to become good."

"Why not?" Seki asked, secretly feeling glad he had made some response. Gaara's head was still lowered, his hair falling down and covering his expressions.

"If you kill people, even those who try to assassinate you, how can people accept you?"

Seki kept quiet, his question startling her. _Assassinate? But he's a shinobi! His powers should be used to protect this village. Why would they want to kill him?_

_**His powers might be the reason.**_

_What do you mean?_

_**Oh, you're alright with the annoying voice now?**_

_... Just answer me._

_**Well, so much for being nice. He could be viewed as a threat, if his powers are so strong.**_

_A threat? You mean by the way..._

Seki recalled the way he killed that man in the alley, so quick, and nearly terrifying. But Seki didn't feel that emotion. No, she couldn't even if she _wanted_ to. She muttered to herself, "If you're protecting yourself, they should understand."

"My existence is nothing to them, and they are nothing to me."

Seki turned her head as Gaara stood up, about to leave. Raising her hand to grab him, another hand made of sand shot from his gourd to stop her. Dropping it, Seki stared at Gaara.

"Why?"

Gaara took a glimpse at her ruby colored eyes. They seemed to see through his frightening exterior, his mask of hatred. He turned away and made to leap off the roof top they had unconsciously stayed on for almost an hour.

"I'm a demon they want to get rid of."

With that, Gaara took a leap and disappeared into the night. Seki stayed on the roof top until sunrise, not feeling particularly tired as she headed back to Keimyou's house. She mulled over the reply she would've given Gaara if he hadn't left so quickly.

_Same here_, she thought.

_Same here._

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** This was a harder chapter to write since I didn't know how to portray a conversation between two loners. I hope it was good enough to keep you waiting for the next chapter. Also, as Seki is my own character, so is her clan. This is all fiction, although I am trying to follow the Naruto time line.

**_Seki_** (short for Houseki) – Jewel, gem  
**_Raion_** - Lion  
**_Keimyou_** – Witty, clever  
**_Iwashi_** – 'i' for greatness, 'washi' for eagle  
**_Enzeru_** – Angel

**_Sabaku Sousou_** – Desert Funeral  
**_Kaze no Tate_** – Shield of Wind

**About Raion clan:  
**The Raion buzoku is a clan that lives in the Land of Wind, but not in Sunagakure as not every member of their family is a Shinobi. They have a bloodline limit that controls air and also have an affinity with cat family, as evidence from their name. Their ancestors were similar to that of the Inuzuka clan, but they had cats as their fighting partners instead of dogs. Their cats however, were summoned from special scrolls that belonged only to the Raion clan. The common traits of members from the Raion clan are their red eyes and cat like agility.

**About Raion's bloodline limit / kekkei genkai:  
**The Raion's bloodline limit is the ability to embed chakra in the air and use it for the person's needs, without wasting huge amounts of chakra. They can solidify it to make a barrier, or create wind for attacking.

Once again, if I owned Naruto, it would be filled with Gaara.


	3. Touchy Issues

**A/N:** Yay, I'm happy because of the reviews, even if there's only two. Anyway, I'm content.

**Jenvaati: **Yes, Naruto needs more Gaara! XD I wanted to use fire since it's a natural enemy to sand. But someone else took fire so, wind it is.  
_edit: I found out someone else used wind too! Never mind, mine will soon be better. Muahaha_

**RACCOON: **Send me the chicken!

On with the story!

* * *

**Hurting**

_**Go ahead, ask him.**_

_But what if it's a touchy issue to him too?_

_**Well, we have to get this over with anyway.**_

_Why?_

_**Because he's already asking you to come over, baka!**_

Seki looked up from her feet and saw Keimyou smiling gently.

"Seki? Is anything the matter?"

Seki considered just giving the cliched 'it's nothing' reply, but her legs had made up its decision to walk over to her concerned uncle. Keimyou moved to the side of the couch as his niece hesitantly sank into the material.

"Now, what's up with that long face?"

"Uncle, I..."

"Yes?"

"I heard stuff, about Gaara-sama."

"Oh."

"You know, Temari-chan's brother."

"Yes, I know," Seki's head snapped up at this. Keimyou gave her a reassuring smile and said sadly, "He's quite infamous here, in Sunagakure," Seki lowered her eyes to her feet once more, finding interest in her fiddling toes.

"Hai, uncle. I heard." Seki answered softly as she recalled the last couple of days after her second meeting with Sabaku no Gaara...

-

"_No, no, go ahead and explore the village. Sunagakure may be peaceful, but at night it's quite a festival."_

"_Hai. Then I'll see you tonight," Seki replied Keimyou and left him at his workplace where he sold puppets for children and dummies for both genins and chuunins that needed them for training._

_Her uncle was right. As the sun slowly set behind the sand dunes, villagers came out setting up food stalls and stands that sold clothes and other necessities. She heard the buzz around her heightening while she searched her pockets for some money to buy dinner. Seki finally bought a hamburger at a nearby stall, surprised they sold fast food here. As she took a bite out of her food, Seki overheard the stall holder chatting with the one next to him._

"_... Away on a mission, then we can come out here without fear."_

"_Fear of what?" Seki cut in, not at all bothered by the fact she had just interrupted the men's conversation. They seemed delighted themselves to have someone to talk to. The one who sold her the hamburger replied, "The demon child, of course. They say he preys on innocent people, especially girls like you. If he wasn't away, I wouldn't allow my daughter to be out here."_

"_Mine, either," the other stall holder added, gesturing to both their daughters, laughing and playing nearby with two, older looking versions of themselves, chatting beside them. Seki turned back to the men._

"_Who is the demon child you speak of?" She asked, although a name had already formed in her clever mind..._

"_Sabaku no Gaara. He kills so silently and cruelly, and is not remorseful for the victims at all."_

"_He has a gourd full of sand which he uses to commit those murders."_

"_Surely he can't be that bad. Why haven't they locked him up yet, if he is so dangerous?"_

"_Everyone's scared to. Who knows what he would do to the people who caught him?"_

"_Not to mention, the Kazekage will not allow his own son to be locked up."_

"_Gaara's the Kazekage's son?" Seki asked, bewildered. This made everything more complicated as it is. Seki wondered why, of all people, the Kazekage's son was being shunned and hated. _Shouldn't children of the Kage be favored shinobi's of their village? _Seki thought quietly as the men in front of her continued discussing about their loath for the village's outcast. _Temari and Kankurou are his siblings, why aren't they targeted as well? _Seki heard the men mention the word 'Bakemono' and winced inwardly._

"_Excuse me," Seki interrupted the men once again._

"_Why is Gaara a demon child?"_

_The two men remained silent at this. Seki saw the adults in front of her shoot nervous glances at each other, unsure of what to reply to the teenage girl before them. The stall holder she had bought her dinner from leaned in closer, as if Gaara was standing nearby._

"_He never sleeps, always waiting to find someone to satisfy the demon within him."_

_-_

Seki now knew for sure that the dark outlines of his eyes were caused by a lack of sleep. But she wondered why, and what exactly was this demon the two stall holders had spoken off.

The next evening, there was hardly anyone there, rumors saying that the sand siblings had once again, accomplished a mission so fast and successfully that they were already back on the second night. Seki couldn't find the men, or Gaara again. Hence, the morning after, she contemplated asking her uncle about the so-called 'demon child'.

Keimyou noticed Seki's reluctance to pursue her curiosity, a first in the history of knowing this inquisitive teenager. He knew her intelligent mind was racking for ways to put her questions subtly and not seem like she was poking her nose into places she shouldn't.

Unfortunately, there was no way to change the question, considering the topic.

"Uncle, why do the villagers hate Gaara?"

Keimyou frowned, wondering if he should reveal what most of the village had not known, but merely gossiped about. _That's the only truth in their gossip, in the end_, Keimyou sighed inwardly and looked at the girl beside him. She was wearing a different colored top now, having found a similar kind at a clothes store yesterday. Seki turned her head to meet Keimyou's own maroon eyes. Keimyou stared down and started, "Gaara is, well, he's not normal, in other peoples' eyes."

"But he is, to you?" Seki asked, having caught on that he had not mentioned his own thoughts. Keimyou smiled at her sharpness and nodded, "Yes. He is just a normal teenager, like you Seki. But he has some, special powers, that the other villagers feel that he shouldn't have. Hence, he is hated."

"They hate him, just because of that?" Keimyou saw Seki's ruby eyes slowly growing with anger. He knew that if he continued she might not see Gaara as whom she saw him now – a lost, and lonely boy. However, Keimyou was not a biased man, and defended the villagers, even though he had half a mind not to, given their own biased actions towards their current topic.

"No, they hate him because he has used his powers to hurt, and kill others. He has taken away some of their loved ones, and are afraid of him taking more," Seki felt her anger slowly dissipated at this. She could see now, why the villagers had viewed him as a monster, yet her feelings towards Sabaku no Gaara did not waver. She understood his pain, his loneliness and the unjust. Seki had a gut feeling that Gaara had not meant for those murders to happen. No one would kill because they wanted to.

_**You never know, Seki. This Gaara might just like to use his sand abilities too much.**_

Seki winced, this time on the outside, at the words said by the voice in her head. She had come to terms with having one, deluding herself that other people had one themselves, and that she was not the only weird person she knew.

_Shut up, I know he's not like that._

_**Ooh, you like this Gaara guy.**_

_What? No, I don't!_

_**Yes, you do. Look at your face, it's clearly written on your expression.**_

_I can't see my face, you baka._

_**Go get a mirror then, ni no baka.**_

Seki shook her head, getting out of the argument with her inner self and wondered whether she was slowly losing her mind due to the heat in the Suna.

Seki realized that her uncle was sitting beside her quietly, not even noticing that she had been debating with herself for the last few minutes. She poked her uncles arm gently, about to ask him again about Gaara, when she spotted a picture on the table beside them. Reaching over, Seki grabbed the photo frame she hadn't noticed before and stared at it while Keimyou broke away from his thoughts. He saw Seki trace the features of a certain Raion member in the photo with her finger and said grimly, "This was taken before his mission."

"... Aa."

Seki felt a sense of nostalgia overwhelm her, as she continued to immerse herself with the image of her father. She imagined him to be standing right in front of her, long, dark brown hair that partially hid his bright red pupils within his almond shaped eyes. An angular face set on his broad shoulders with a tanned complexion, and muscular limbs that easily carried Seki whenever she wanted to view the surroundings through his eyes. Seki felt tears well up in her eyes and blinked them away, not wanting to let Keimyou know she was weak. Keimyou, however, knew that she had to be shaken. Her father accepted her for what she was, without question, and parting with him was probably the hardest she had to do.

"Who's the man with you and Otousan?"

Seki had started to take in the other two figures in the picture. One showed a younger Keimyou, with his then short black hair resting on his shoulders and maroon eyes full of mischief. His face was more rounded, was fairer and less muscular than his older brother. The other was a fair skinned man as well, but closely resembled a woman. He had shaggy, blond hair and gray eyes that had a sharp angle near the nose. Seki looked closer and discovered that he actually had a kind look in his eyes, care and compassion seemed to flow out of his gaze.

"This is Yashamaru," Keimyou pointed at the unidentified man, "He was our best friend."

"Was?" Seki asked softly, looking up at Keimyou. Keimyou nodded, his mouth set in a thin line.

"Yashamaru died in a mission. The same kind your father died in."

Seki suddenly felt remorse for this man she had never met with. Her father hardly made friends outside of the Raion clan. This Yashamaru must have been a good friend to Keimyou too.

"Yashamaru was Gaara's uncle, and care taker, you know," Seki whipped her head back to Keimyou, ears twitching at the sound of Gaara's name. Keimyou kept his eyes straight down at the carpet that covered his floor, but Seki could see that his eyes were glazed over, as if reminiscing a memory he had buried inside his mind long ago.

"After Yashamaru was killed, your father couldn't take it. Which explains his agreement to the mission..."

"What mission? Why does it have to do with Gaara?" Seki demanded. Her brain had not missed how Keimyou linked the two pieces of information together. Keimyou visible flinched at Seki's sudden outburst.

_Chikushou, I can't let her find out._

Keimyou cleared his throat, "Erm, well, your father, he erm, ended with the same fate as Yashamaru. And since Yashamaru was his care taker after all, so..."

"Oh," Seki cut in, seemingly understanding. Keimyou restrained a sigh of relief, though he wondered what conclusion Seki had thought up with his supposed explanation. Seki asked without turning to Keimyou, "What was the nature of the assignment?" Keimyou frowned slightly, but decided that it would not do much harm if he was honest about it.

"An assassination. The person... Is still at large."

Seki's mind was reeling. She vaguely recalled her father saying that assassinations were not proper missions for a shinobi, so there had to be a reason he had accepted it. Seki stole a glance at Keimyou, having resumed his gaze at an invisible ornament on the coffee table in front of them. _He didn't look like he was lying._

_**He still seems to be hiding something, doesn't it?**_

_Yes, and I doubt I can get it out from him that easily._

Having decided so, Seki moved on to the next thing disturbing her. She could not believe her father could be killed that easily. Her anger was slowly rising again, but she calmed herself down before it could reach a destructive level. She felt determination replace it instead and punched her right fist in her left palm.

"Uncle!"

"Huh? Wha... Oh yes, Seki-chan?"

"I want to train tomorrow. It's Saturday, so you should be free right?"

"Uh, yes. Why the sudden..."

"My father couldn't be killed this easily by a normal shinobi. Whoever murdered him must be really strong. I'm going to train hard and avenge my father's death no matter what!" Seki stood up at the last few words and punched her fist in the air. Keimyou blinked at Seki's change of attitude. He was about to smile and encourage her when she turned and face him squarely.

"Keimyou-san, I know you are reluctant to tell me who was the person who assassinated otousan. It's alright, I will wait until I'm strong enough before asking you again. I hope you will tell me then," with those words, Seki walked back into her bedroom, which she had spray painted the walls with a complicated design of orange and red swirls. Her uncle watched her go, shaking his head and smiling in defeat at the sharp kunoichi.

_You raised her well, Iwashi. She's going to make you proud._

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** Ah-ha! Bet you didn't realize Iwashi was her father! Can you guess who's Enzeru then? I'll give you a hint, it's a woman!

This is a rather slow chapter, but I had to make sure Seki found out about some things that will be important in the later parts of the chapter.  
Anyway, it's 2 am now, so I hope I get reviews for this one. I still have to work tomorrow, grah.

_**Bakemono**_ – monster  
_**Ni no Baka –**_ idiot number 2

_Sayonara!_


	4. Red and Gold

**A/N:** 'Lo! I'm back again, since I had a day off with nothing to do. Hehe. Also, I had noted that in chapter two, I wrote that Keimyou's eyes were dark **blue**. It's supposed to be **maroon**, a different shade of red, so i'll try to edit it. And yes, that would mean someone in the family had pink pupils. How cool!

**Jenvaati: **Actually Iwashi was my OC, but there IS another man called Iwashi in the anime, though I can't remember from where. The sandstorm idea is good, and fog was like mist, which I've seen too much of already.

Here's chapter 4, enjoy!

* * *

**Hurting**

_Blood was being spilled. Her hands held a kunai, shaking with anger._

Seki's forehead creased into a frown.

_She heard someone cough from behind, without hesitation, flung her weapon at the approaching enemy._

_Enzeru fell with a soft thump, on the wooden floor._

Drops of sweat rolled down Seki's face, her blanket suddenly feeling very warm.

_The fire slowly burned itself out in her eyes, as she realized who the last victim was._

_Her mind woke up._

Seki turned her head, letting out a soft groan. Her eyes remained shut, but she was tossing and twisting, entangling her legs with the thin blanket that covered her.

_Everything was covered in red._

_No one was moving._

"_Houseki..._

Seki's hands waved helplessly as her nightmare went on behind her closed eyelids.

_...Bakemono!"_

"NO!" Seki yelled and sat up straight, the visions of her dream slowly fading away. Placing a hand on her chest, Seki felt the garment soaked with sweat.

Not blood, sweat.

Relieved, Seki sighed and jumped off the bed. Sunlight streamed through her bedroom window, chasing away the shadows of the night. There were no birds chirping outside as the desert heat crept in as well, but the quiet scene of the village gave Seki even more energy. She grabbed a new set of clothes and headed to the bathroom to wash up, greeting Keimyou as she passed by the kitchen.

Inside the bathroom, Seki took a look at herself in the mirror. It had been almost a week since she had arrived in Sunagakure, the bright desert sun had given her a slight – very slight – tan, which Keimyou had commented that it gave her a warm glow. Her cheeks were less gaunt, seeing as she now had regular meals unlike during her journey here. Her red eyes had their sparkle back, especially when she was training. Seki ran her fingers through her hair, which was slowly reverting back to it's original light brown color. The orange dye was slowly losing it's effects, but Seki had been too caught up in her training to re-dye it.

Training.

Seki's eyes grew wide as she remembered today was the last training she had with Keimyou, as he still had a business to run. She brushed her teeth and washed her face before changing out of her night clothes into another sleeveless polo t-shirt, it was lime green this time, and green and brown cargo pants that had somehow shrunk while washing so that it fitted her perfectly, despite her skinny structure. Seki then flew to her room to get her sling bag and weapons holster, and finally arrived at the dining table, devouring her breakfast as fast as a normal girl could.

"Woah, Seki. Give your gullet time to swallow!" Keimyou patted her lightly on the back as she choked at his words. Seki followed his instructions, and after gulping down a cup of milk, she grinned at her uncle, "Let's go!"

Keimyou shook his head, half glad it was the last day he was training with her, at least on weekdays when he was working. The two walked out of the house and traveled for a few minutes to a surprisingly dense forest, grown specially under the Kazekage's orders, so that the shinobis of Sunagakure could train. Seki marveled at the area it covered, even though she had came here a few times already. It was a strange sight since Sunagakure was still in the middle of the desert. Seki wondered how long it had taken for the forest to grow this large, and decided that they must have used some chemicals that hastened it's growth.

"Alright, I'm going to get all the puppets out this time, so prepare yourself."

"Hai," Seki nodded her head and waited in the middle of the forest, for Keimyou to collect the puppets he had made specially for her training.

-

Gaara heard the soft sounds of footsteps from the top of the roof, indicating that Temari and Kankurou were already awake. He decided to by-pass Temari's home-cooked (_home-blown, more like_) breakfast and disappeared from his spot.

He seemed to materialize out of sand again, in front of the so-called jungle the Kazekage had proposed, in order to better train their shinobis for different terrains. In spite of this, hardly anyone came here as Gaara often used this place as his personal destruction zone when he wanted to destroy something. The trees grew exceptionally fast due to one of many Chiyo's chemicals, hence anything he demolished in here would grow back the next day anyway.

Today Gaara felt the need again, albeit the reason was unknown. However, as he neared the middle of the jungle, he heard voices, a female and male, interrupt the stillness. The male one seemed to be leaving and the female stayed silent after that. Intrigued, Gaara leaped to the top of the trees and tried to find the source of the voices. He finally saw someone, sitting in a clearing while glancing around, as if waiting for something to happen. The person had brown cropped hair with a hint of orange at the ends. Her face was tanned slightly, with pale pink lips and red ruby eyes. Gaara peered from the top of his tree at the familiar girl, as the memory from several days ago surfaced in his mind.

"_Why? You were amazing back there."_

Gaara saw that she now looked more refreshed than before, undoubtedly after having proper meals, and her eyes now glimmered with excitement and impatience. As the bushes started to rustle beneath him, Gaara continued to observe the girl fight off the approaching dummies with amazing speed and agility. The same speed that managed to keep up with him that night.

-

Seki felt someone's eyes boring into her head, but did not have time to look up and find the person. A rustle in the bushes caught Seki's attention as the first of Keimyou's puppets came into view. Swiftly flicking her kunai at its head, Seki quickly flattened herself on the ground as a series of arrows shot through the air above her. She dashed and jumped on top of the first puppet she had attacked, her palms thrust out in front of her. Suddenly, a strong wind blew the hiding puppets from within the bushes, causing them to smash against themselves.

At that moment, the puppet under Seki's feet shifted and the head shot itself from the body. She hurriedly jumped off to the side, and frowned as the puppet was dislocating its arms and legs. The head hovered just above the other limbs as they all sprouted daggers and zoomed towards her. Seki's red eyes widened at the sight, calculating the distance between the limbs before leaping off the ground. She dodged every single dagger and finally grasped onto the kunai that was still lodged in the flying head. She waited until the other limbs had aimed themselves towards her before letting go, breaking the flying puppet's head instead of her own.

Three more puppets jumped out together from behind, so fast that Seki barely managed to activate her wind shield. Two of them broke apart at the impact of the shield, and Seki saw the third jump over her head and land in front of her. Its stomach seemed to open up, and before Seki could realize what was inside of it, three spiked balls shot out, slicing her left shoulder and elbow, as well as her right thigh. Seki gritted her teeth and sprinted away as it started to shoot out more spiked balls. She gripped her bleeding shoulder and opened her left palm as wind started to circle and form a huge ball. As soon as the ball grew to almost human size, Seki pumped it towards the shooting puppet, slamming it against a tree and breaking itself into minuscule pieces of wood.

Just then, Seki saw almost five to ten more dummies leap down from the top of the tree branches. They were relatively smaller than the rest, but Seki knew that what they lacked in size, they made up for in speed. Smirking, Seki jumped away from them as they slammed onto the ground. She flinched at the strength the little puppets had as she saw holes appear under them and clasped her hands together when she reached the tree branch she had jumped for.

"_Kaze Hari!_"

Seki called out and flicked her fingers towards the dummies. Invisible needles shot from her fingertips and glinted for a mere second in the sunlight before they pierced through the puppets with amazing accuracy and broke them into pieces. Seki took a moment to catch her breath and immediately took out some bandages from her pocket to tie them haphazardly over the wound on her thigh, which seemed more serious than the ones on her shoulder and elbow. Blood continued to flow, albeit it was slower than before. Seki suddenly felt the hairs on her neck stand on end as she noticed that nothing had happened for a while.

_Is he trying to surprise me?_

_**Gee, ya think?**_

Seki softly dropped to the ground on all fours, like a cat, and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't see or hear anything suspicious, but her senses tingled with uncertainty. She placed her head on the ground, and heard nothing. Which meant either Keimyou had stopped for now, or that he had already started what he wanted to do.

Seki chose the latter and slowly reached for a kunai...

**CLANG!**

Seki whipped her head around to see a streak of gold flash past her eyes. The next second later she saw a metal arrow on the ground, glistering under the light. Her red eyes quickly spotted the many puppets surrounding her, hidden behind the bushes. Seki thought of using a certain jutsu to end this training, and developed a theory along with it. She smirked, happy for the warning and started to do some seals. The puppets chose this moment to leap out, all of them shooting arrows from all directions. It seemed as though Seki was trapped, and there was no time to activate her wind shield...

"_Futon: Rensei Taifuu!_"

At her words, air started to spiral around Seki's fingers and enlarged as it shot towards the green canopy. Seki struggled to keep the typhoon under control and watched with satisfaction as the typhoon continued to grow and suck in all the arrows as well as the puppets. She slowly lowered her fingers until they were horizontal and watched with amazement as her theory unfolded before her. The typhoon had followed her fingers and were now drilling through the mass of trees and rocks that stood in her way. Seki felt her chakra level deplete even faster and willed the typhoon to calm. As the wind slowly died down, a path of fallen trees and broken rocks lay before Seki.

And at the end of it, was Keimyou standing at the outskirts of the forest where he had been controlling the puppets from.

Seki grinned as her eyes started to close, and collapsed with exhaustion from the destruction she had done.

-

Gaara looked on as Keimyou dashed towards Seki, a worried expression painted on his features. He soon left however, not wanting to observe the display of affection from Keimyou towards Seki. Gaara's mind played over and over the scene of the typhoon seemingly sprout out of Seki's fingertips, the whole destruction she had caused with it without even taking a step, the frown on her face as she tried to control it.

She was strong. With enough practice, she could be one of the strongest kunoichi in the Land of Wind.

Gaara landed on the ground outside of the forest, walking slowly back to the place he lived with Temari and Kankurou. He thought back about his actions, wondering with uncertainty about the feelings starting to grow from within his stone cold heart.

-

Seki's eyes fluttered, squinted and then squeezed themselves shut against the strong light coming through the window. She sat up slowly, feeling around the bed she lay on.

... Bed?

Seki opened her eyes, shocked to discover that she was on the bed she slept on just a few hours ago. She jumped off the bed and dashed to the kitchen, only to find a note from Keimyou explaining what had happened and that he had went back to work. Seki sighed heavily and slumped on a chair in the dining room. She had wanted to train more, but her stamina is still weak.

_... a streak of gold flash past her eyes..._

_... metal arrow on the ground..._

_Gold_, Seki thought to herself. Seki knew whatever the gold object was, it had defended her against the metal arrow. She racked her brain for something, but her fatigue caused nothing too logical to pop in her mind. Going back into her room, Seki wondered what she could do for the rest of the day. She dug into her sling bag and pulled out a rather crumpled black and white picture, the edges so frail it tore at the slightest touch. Seki stared at it wordlessly, her eyes outlining the figures she had loved and cherished. They were people who loved her as well, people she spent her 10 years as a child with.

People she killed.

Shaking her head furiously, Seki pushed the thought out of her mind and crushed the photo to the bottom of her sling bag. Her fingers brushed a metal cylinder and she quickly took it to the bathroom. Shaking the cylinder, Seki looked into the mirror and picked out the highlights that were fading away fast. She expertly sprayed her dye on her hair, the orange color soon bringing out the bright red pupils she had.

Unknowingly, her mind soon drifted back to the conversation with Keimyou about her father.

"_After Yashamaru was killed, your father couldn't take it. Which explains his agreement to the mission..."_

"_What mission? What does it have to do with Gaara?"_

Seki's hands slowed and she let them drop to her side. Although she had promised her uncle to ask him when she was ready, her anger was boiling at the fact her father was killed so easily. Getting out of the bathroom, Seki stuffed the orange dye into her bag, slung it over her shoulder and headed out of the house, towards the Kazekage office building.

-

Kankurou groaned once he was out of the office. The Kazekage really had a way to torture every one of his subordinates. _Sort through all their files for a Raion clan? Give me a break! _Kankurou thought angrily and heaved Karasu to a better position on his back. He was not excited about his recent assignment, hardly knowing the purpose for it and why he, of all people, was chosen.

_Karasu needs a little tuning after the previous mission. I could drop by Keimyou-sama's shop after this. Hopefully he has some..._

"Kankurou-sama?"

Kankurou's head snapped up at the girl's voice and found himself blinking at the brown-and-orange head kid who had overpowered Gaara's sand shield. The lime green shirt and cargo pants showed off her figure pretty well, even though she was still on the skinny side. Kankurou nodded his head belatedly, remembering her call, "Aa. Seki-chan, is anything the matter?"

"Iie, I was just looking for the Kazekage."

Kankurou snorted, "Yeah, right. Like he'd give you the time of day."

Seki blinked curiously, "Anou, why not?"

"The Kazekage only meets important people or shinobis."

"I am a shinobi! I'm a genin of Suna remember?"

"Yeah, but he gives them missions, not requests," Seki noted the bitter tone hidden in Kankurou's voice. She looked into his eyes and saw hatred, and anger. Her eyebrows creased neatly together.

"Anou, Kankurou-sama?"

"Hn?"

"Why are you so negative about your father?" Kankurou visibly stiffened and his stare became icy, as well as his tone.

"Why should you care?"

Seki shuffled her foot, unsure of what to say. She cleared her throat, "Keimyou-san, told me about, your brother..."

"Did he tell you about my mother?" Seki shook her head.

"Then go ask him!" Kankurou snapped. He turned on his heel and left Seki staring after him, wondering what was going on. Kankurou walked briskly down the stairs, his head flooding with memories he did NOT want to see. Not right now.

"_... Your mother sacrificed herself for the village..."_

"_... Get away! You're a bakemono too!"_

"_... Temari, Kankurou, I hate this place..."_

_Dammit! I'm still seeing it. Why the hell did she have to poke her nose in it? To think I thought she would be nice. _Kankurou fumed as he got to the ground level, and stormed out the entrance.

_Why did Keimyou-san tell her anyway? I hate brats, I hate her, I hate Gaara... GAH! Why the hell am I walking?!_

As if on cue, Kankurou suddenly did a shunshin and disappeared when Seki was about to catch up with him.

-

_Chikushou! Where'd he go now? He must be pissed at my lack of manners, poking in people's business like that._

_**So you do know you have a lack of manners, eh?**_

_Shut up, I'm trying to find him._

_**He wears purple face paint and a cat-eared headdress. I can totally see why you can't find him.**_

Seki shut out her thoughts as she leaped onto roof top after roof top, searching for the purple faced shinobi. Logically, his headdress shouldn't be hard to find, however, Seki couldn't see anything distinctively purple or cat-eared. She finally stopped in front of the square, panting heavily. From the corner of her eye, she saw a few villagers running past her. Straightening her back, Seki glanced around to see people rushing into their homes, closing windows and doors, the unique sound of a lock clicking into place sounding off in several of the houses. A chill went down her spine as the place became eerily quiet. She backed away slowly, as if there was something in the square coming to get her. She broke into a backwards run, then realizing the direction she was going and turned around...

... Smacking head first into a pile of sand.

Very, hard, sand.

Seki felt something warm sliding down the side of her face. Raising her fingers, she felt it and brought it to her eyes.

Blood.

_Everything was covered in red._

Red.

Seki's hands started to shake, and she slowly looked up. Someone stared down at her, or more like, her wound as it continued to leak the red, sticky liquid. The sand moved around warily behind him, a huge contrast to his flaming red hair as the sunlight was cast upon it, making it shine a brilliant gold color.

_Gold._

Her hands stopped shaking as the person in front of her took a step forward. She didn't flinch or crawl away. Instead, Seki stared right into the eye of the person she – sort of – crashed into. The cold, teal eyes glimmering with excitement. He took another step towards her, closing the gap until their feet were only a few centimeters from each other...

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** Ah, cliffhanger. Serves you right for not reviewing. pokes tongue out

_**Kaze Hari**_ – Wind needles  
_**Futon: Rensei Taifuu**_ – Wind release: drilling typhoon

Can you figure out the connection at the last few paragraphs? If you can, good for you! Now review!

Sayonara!


	5. Loneliness

**A/N:** I have to warn you, that I had a major, major writer's block for this chapter. Plus I am currently down with the flu. Horrible, to be sick during the holidays. Anyway, I hope this won't be a disappointment to others. I'm not used to beta readers, so I edited it my way. Cheers!

* * *

**Hurting**

_...A streak of gold flash past her eyes..._

Seki eyes widened at the ocean colored eyes, so cold and frightening that most people would've run away screaming by now.

But she didn't.

Gaara continued to approach her menacingly, his sand pouring out of his gourd and wrapping around her ankles tightly. Seki winced at the death grip, her memories of her first night in Sunagakure coming back to haunt her. The same hungry glare, paired up with the smirk that looked almost evil, placed against the sickly paleness of Gaara's face. He raised his hands, licking his lips in delight as the sand reached Seki's chest. Seki felt her legs go numb at the crushing force of the sand, its warmth made Seki shiver slightly, as she imagined the source of the warmth as the blood of Gaara's many victims.

And it probably was.

Gaara started to grit his teeth and tightened his fist. Seki screamed out in pain, but her fear was still absent from her bright ruby pupils.

_Why? Why isn't she frightened!?_

"I need... I need to prove..."

Seki strained to hear Gaara's whispering, ignoring the sand the best she could without dying.

"... my existence. I need... to kill..."

The Shukaku within Gaara started to snarl impatiently, its bloodthirsty nature trying to remain dominant above Gaara's peaked curiosity. For the second time, Gaara tried fight down the temptation to prove his existence. Shukaku sneered at Gaara's sudden interest, but after a while, it relented and let Gaara release Seki from the coffin that was squeezing the life out of her. Seki felt a rush of air as the sand slid back into the gourd, noticing grimly that there were some grazes caused by the sand's rough handling.

_Why? Why is he calling back his sand?_

Seki coughed several times, trying to breath normally as the thought raced in her mind. She frowned and attempted to call out to Gaara, but she hadn't caught her breath, so she used her own chakra to push air into her lungs.

"Ga-Gaara! Wait!" Seki knew it was a risky thing to do, but she went ahead anyway and reached out for Gaara's sash. The sand immediately rose to block her, but Seki prepared beforehand and used her wind chakra to cover herself totally, avoiding the sand's deathgrip.

Gaara barely had time to register the fact that someone was holding on to his sash as he did a shunshin, and disappeared away from the village of the Sand, with Seki.

-

In the middle of the desert, the sun could be seen slowly dropping towards the sand dunes, casting bright warm hues of orange, yellow and pink onto the sand. Waves appeared as the wind blew gently on the sea of sand, until a few of them were interrupted by two figures materializing in the middle of a sand dune.

Seki let go of Gaara's sash, the sand finally retreating at the absence of the "threat" she had posed. The wind shield Seki had covered her body with also disappeared, leaving Seki breathless. She had to use a large amount of chakra to protect herself from the pounding sand, leaving her weak and tired.

_Just like the end of my trainings._

_**You ain't that strong, ain't ya?**_

_The hell with you, I don't need you now._

_**Well, at least I am honest, ne?**_

_Shut up._

Seki thought angrily, but soon pushed it to the back of her mind. The main thing she was trying to concentrate on, was currently walking away, find a spot to sit on the sand as it cooled down. Seki shakily got up and stumbled over to where Gaara was frowning in concentration. His eyes turned towards Seki as she collapsed beside him, breathing heavily.

"Why aren't you afraid of me?"

Seki used her hand to control the heaving of her chest and blinked at the red head beside her.

"Huh?"

"... Why?"

"I... What's there to be afraid of?"

Gaara's mouth fell open as he gazed at the girl as if she was crazy. Seki remained nonchalant and admired the surprisingly beautiful view. Gaara debated with himself whether he wanted to tell the first person who didn't run away from him after Yashamaru, exactly why she should. But Seki was the first to open her mouth.

"Is that why, you're so sad?"

Gaara turned away from Seki, still wondering if he should explain the reasons he was shunned in the village.

"Because people are afraid of you? Are you, lonely?"

Soft red eyes glimmered at the rising moon as Seki gave Gaara a grim smile. Gaara took a sideways glance at her, nodding his head at the slightest bit. Seki looked down at their hands, only an inch away, but she knew that the moment she reached out, the sand would block her, regardless of Gaara's will. She sighed.

_So near yet so far, huh?_

_**Admitting your feelings now, Seki-chaan?**_

_Since when do you use affectionate suffixes?_

_**Since you stopped being a baka, baka.**_

Shaking her head, Seki stopped her inner debate and looked up at Gaara, surprising herself as she met teal colored pupils, this time not cold, but in need. She smiled comfortingly and hugged her legs as the temperature dropped. The red sun set even lower behind the dunes, darkening the sky as the stars came out one by one. Seki awed at its beauty, softly saying, "I never saw this many stars the last time."

"Its the new moon, there's not enough light to block out the stars now."

"Really? Amazing," Seki murmured. She gave Gaara a genuine smile and, although he had long been immune to the cold air in the desert at night, he no longer felt as cold as before. He would've given her a smile too, if he hadn't still been wondering why she was still hanging around him. Not to mention it would be his first smile in 6 years. Gaara decided to just enjoy the silence.

Seki however, had another idea.

"So you can read emotions too, ne?"

"..."

"Through people's eyes?" Seki explained, pointing two fingers to her own red pupils. Gaara blinked, then shook his head. Seki opened her mouth to ask how he knew she wasn't afraid of him, but he answered before she could.

"Only fear."

"Oh."

Silence ensued as the wind continued to slap against Seki's bare arms. She felt goosebumps and regretted not buying a cloak when she went shopping. A sandy arm wrapped itself around Seki, which was, although itchy, warm nonetheless. Seki grinned, knowing who it was and whispered a soft "Arigatou," before closing her eyes, sleep slowly taking over...

"How?"

... Too slow. Seki resisted a groan and peered through her heavy eyelids. Gaara was looking interested for once, and... Was that envy?

"Nani?"

"How do you," Gaara hesitated. Seki reached out, making sure to go extremely slow, and rested her hand on his. The sand guard didn't go up, but she still felt sand.

_Probably an armor_, Seki thought, pitying Gaara. _He probably hasn't gotten hurt before. _Seki nodded encouragingly, and Gaara continued his question, "... How do you, read emotions?"

"Hn. I have seen people with many different emotions, and how their eyes look when they express a particular one. It's quite simple if you looked carefully."

"Show me."

Seki snapped her head from the view in front of her to Gaara. He looked at her with expression, but his eyes told a different story. Seki cocked her head to the right and examined the many emotions swirling in the dark rimmed eyes.

"Yours is, complicated. You have 2 kinds of emotions."

"... Ni?"

"Hai. At first glance, I see hunger, a thirst to prove yourself. But then, if I look for a while longer..."

"..."

"... loneliness. Helplessness. Pleading eyes, that just want to be loved regardless."

_**That sounds kinda familiar, ne?**_

_Quiet, please._

_**Alright, I don't want to you to feel worse. Take care, Seki-chan.**_

Seki's inner voice disappeared on its own for once, but contrary to what it claimed, Seki felt worse. A lot worse, as she heard her own words again, which reflected on herself. Her own hidden emotions.

Gaara's face showed little difference in expression, but he felt his heart beating faster. He gripped it, willing it to slow down as he watched the girl in front of him curl up in a ball again, trying to warm herself against the piercing, cold winds. Commanding his sand to wrap her again, Gaara suddenly realised he never felt his heart after his uncle's death. He could feel the beating, the pounding, the proof that he was alive.

"Gaara?"

Gaara looked up at Seki, noticing that her lips were looking paler than usual. He willed the sand to wrap her closer.

"Why do you, want to prove your existence..."

Seki felt fatigue trying to take over, but she needed some answers from Gaara as well. After tonight, who knew when she would get a chance to sit him down like this?

Gaara raised an invisible eyebrow as he watched Seki's determination to fight off the sleep she desperately wanted. He didn't know how sleep felt, but it was something people normally needed.

Normal.

He set his mouth in a thin line and explained shortly, "I need a reason to live, or it would be the same as me being dead. By killing people who want to kill me, I recognize my reason to live. My existence will remain. "

"I... didn't want... to kill you..."

"You would want to someday."

"No, I... wouldn't. You... knew that..."

Gaara turned away. He felt something tug his heart.

"How do I know? People I thought cared about me, in the end agreed to assassinate me," Gaara spat out bitterly, his mind battling to keep his memories buried. Seki was close to being unconscious, but even she could hear the desperation. He wanted to know if she was true. He wanted to know if she was real.

"I... will not... kill you..."

Gaara looked into Seki. Not at her, into.

Her eyes.

"You, are telling the truth?"

Seki nodded, smiling the biggest she could before she fainted.

Yes, fainted.

-

Gaara could not understand how he felt. He wanted to get back to his house and meditate. He wanted to forget his past and bury them at the back of his mind. He wanted to get rid of everything he felt tonight.

_No, not everything._

Gaara heard Shukaku laugh mockingly, taunting him. It was challenging Gaara again, like it had over the years. It dared Gaara to believe her, to take this impossible risk. To trust, this fantasy.

Gaara crushed his palms on his ears, to plug out the Shukaku. It was useless of course, since he was part of Gaara. His mind started to fill with pictures of an hour ago, when his sand felt her chakra levels deplete despite her not doing anything. Gaara had then transported them back to the village, to Keimyou's house. He hadn't been there for several years now, but he remembered the way. Keimyou had invited him in after he brought Seki, but Gaara refused, deciding to just explain what had happened. However, his conversation with Keimyou after that – albeit Keimyou was the only one talking – was the one that stayed in his mind.

-

"_Seki's chakra levels were already low when she was freezing, so its a miracle she survived. Arigatou, Gaara."_

_Gaara gave a curt nod, and turned to leave._

"_Gaara!"_

_Gaara looked back at Keimyou, who seemed rather amused._

"_Arigatou, for caring and protecting Seki."_

-

_Love is expressed by caring for and protecting that important person._

_Love? _Gaara thought ridiculously. _No, I just didn't feel like killing her. That's all. _Gaara decided and arrived on the roof top of his 'home'.

_**Love yourself, and fight only for yourself.**_

His own words, as if printed on the insides of his eyelids as Gaara closed his eyes to meditate.

Only for himself.

"_Are you, lonely?"_

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** Alright, this is the result after some editing. I really don't want to steer too much away from the original storyline. I hope you guys still enjoy this as much. I'll try to make up for this slow chapter in the next one. In the meantime, review for this poor, sickly JE. Pretty please?


	6. Undeserving Past

**A/N: **Woo, a little insight to Seki's life. I decided to update faster since I'm sick at home. I still haven't gotten much reviews...

But never mind that. Sit back and relax, here comes Seki's own sad history.

* * *

**Hurting**

_**...12 years ago...**_

"Iwashi!"

Iwashi turned his head and waited for his brother to catch up with him. Keimyou's maroon eyes sparkled with happiness as he caught up with the father of his niece.

"She's alright! She was saved, she's going to be fine!"

Iwashi's eyes widened, and without a word he shunshin to the room that held his new born daughter.

Enzeru stared at her child, not quite sure that she was seeing what she saw. Her daughter, Houseki Raion, had unbelievably survived. The small traces of soft chocolate brown hair was visible on top of her fair head. She was curled up in a ball, probably unused to the cold air of the night. Enzeru quickly bundled her up in a blanket, still counting her blessings after what had happened.

Her husband appeared beside her, only minutes after Keimyou and the elder priests had left. She turned to Iwashi, tears forming as relief washed over her. Iwashi looked from her brown pupils to his child, still trying to attain some warmth from her mother's embrace. He gently took her from Enzeru's slim form, hugging her tightly, not wanting to let her go. Houseki finally relaxed, her eyes fluttering open to see the source of the warmth she was feeling. Enzeru joined her husband's side to smile happily into their daughter's bright red pupils, which instantly sparkled at the sight of the couple. She knew who they were.

Enzeru and Iwashi gave each other a comforting look, both of them thanking the heavens in their hearts. Their daughter had survived a demon's bite, and although the demon had escaped before it could be captured, everything should be fine after the priests had check her.

Nothing was out of place in this picture. Just a couple admiring their first baby, love flowing from their hearts to hers. It was beautiful, and nothing could be wrong.

Yet.

-

_**...7 years later...**_

"Seki Raion! You come back here, you little imp!" An old woman yelled as a blur of brown dashed in and out of the kitchen, taking along a few loaves of bread with her. The 7 year old turned her head to see the cook wave her fist angrily, running backwards as she tried to keep the bread in her hands. She turned back, after she realized the cook was not going to chase her.

"Come on, Seki-chan. We can't keep the kittens waiting now, can we?" Seki's head snapped up, and a brilliant smile lit up the whole hallway as she sprinted to catch up with her uncle who had come out from his hiding spot. The two of them arrived at the garden at the back of the house, which was the smallest and had a low chance of anyone coming here. Seki called out for the kittens and they soon came crawling out and stopped in front of Seki. She began to throw down pieces of bread from the platform she sat on, grinning every time the kittens mewed to express their gratitude. Keimyou noticed that they had no collars on, unlike the house pets. These were strays.

"Seki-chan, why do you like these stray cats? Don't you like the house pets?"

"I like the house pets just fine, but these strays have no one to love them. I don't want them to be lonely."

Keimyou stared at his niece.

"These kittens are unwanted, a nuisance and potential troublemakers. If they are left alone, they would suffer, but no one would care because they would disturb them anymore. But they have abilities to help people, Keimyou-san. They really do!" Seki exclaimed, earnestly trying to prove her point although she didn't have to.

"See that black and white kitten there, it can jump really high," Seki pointed to a small kitten devouring its bread as fast as it could. "And that one with a gray spot on its tail? It can swim faster than any of these kittens..."

Seki listed down all of the kitten's unique skills and abilities, and Keimyou watched the compassion and kind nature in her that was usually missed by the people in their clan.

"...And the orange one? Oh, its my favorite. Its nose is really good, it helped me to find Mr Teddy when I lost it one day. And look! Its very nice too, it shares its food!" True enough, as Keimyou followed the direction of Seki's finger, he saw the orange kitten drop some of its bread to a scrawny yellow furred one. Seki stopped then, just looking at the orange kitten.

"I like the color orange. I want my hair to be that color too!" Keimyou chuckled and ruffled her shoulder length brown hair. Seki grinned, but did not stop feeding the hungry strays. Keimyou's smile slowly faded, and his hand rested on her shoulder.

"Anou, Seki-chan..." Seki looked up for a moment at Keimyou's concerned face.

"You, like these strays..." Seki nodded vigorously, but Keimyou stopped her.

"... because they're like you?" Seki's eyes widened, her mouth opened slightly but no words came out. She turned back to the kittens, her head bowed and a shadow was cast over her face.

Keimyou pitied the little girl. She was only 7, and she had so many talents that people would've been proud to have her in the Raion clan. But they weren't.

-

She was upset when the a tiger cub had clawed her favorite toy, Mr Teddy. The tiger cub was a child of the tigress, which was the prized pet of the clan. No one saw what had happened, but a servant had found the tiger cub dead in Seki's room, where Seki lay unconscious, her hands stained with the cub's blood.

It was the first of the many attacks she got. Although she didn't hurt anyone after the tiger cub, people were still terrified whenever she had them. The eldest of the priests explained to Iwashi and Enzeru, that the cause of it was the unknown demon that had bitten her when she was just born. The poison of its fangs had seeped into a small part of her brain, which will cause her to go insane when angered or upset. She had no memory of her attacks, due to the poison which caused her mind to slip into a temporary coma, although her limbs moved at her mind's own accord.

Keimyou witnessed one of the attacks in secret when she was four, and he never told anyone what he had seen, even Iwashi. But he was still sickened at the malicious way she had tried to strangle the dog that had bit her, to death. After that though, when she had fallen unconscious due to exahaustion, and the dog had ran away whimpering, Keimyou saw the weak form crumpled on the floor, and the innocent face when she awoke in his room. He realized it was never her fault, and she didn't deserve to be blamed.

Iwashi explained everything to her when she turned 6, and Keimyou never saw a smile from her for the next few weeks. She locked herself from the world, only eating the minimal requirement needed to live, never speaking to anyone. Enzeru and Iwashi were at their wits end, so Keimyou gave them a suggestion. They were reluctant, but agreed in the end. Keimyou then went to give his proposal to Seki.

"_Seki, would you like me to train you to become a shinobi, that everyone would be proud of?"_

Seki used that as her goal, and regained her cheerful and bright composure after that. Keimyou never regretted his decision, and always saw the side of her that people missed or never bothered to see. Her compassionate, kind and determined attitude. She worked hard, and was potentially the strongest of all the other members of the clan. Seki ignored the whispers of others, and concentrated on improving herself, everyday. She had the love of her parents, and the love of her uncle and her many stray kittens. It was enough for her.

As long as Seki didn't kill anyone, she would be fine. And one day she would get the acceptance she wanted.

If only things were as simple as that.

-

"Congratulations again, Seki-chan! You will become a fine shinobi after this!" Keimyou praised as they walked out of the Suna Ninja Academy. Seki gave her uncle a wide smile and looked back down at her new forehead protector. She traced the symbol that represented the shinobis of Sunagakure, an hourglass with a bar on top. She hugged it tightly to her chest and looked back at her uncle as they walked to a nearby restaurant, "Hai. Arigatou Keimyou-san, for training me. I will make the Raion clan proud one day, I'm sure of it!" Seki exclaimed with confidence, drawing some amused looks from the customers at the restaurant. After ordering, Keimyou chuckled and ruffled Seki's now cropped hair. She had made him promise to buy some orange dye if she passed, but he still liked the soft brown color of her hair. Seki pouted and slapped his hand away from messing her hair.

"Anou, Keimyou-san? Why do you want to move here again?"

"Hn? I told you, I prefer to stay in this peaceful village. Besides, I want to escape all the ladies back home. How many times have I told Enzeru that I want to be a bachelor? Simple really, she just can't accept it," Seki giggled and Keimyou joined her before she asked her next question.

"Anou, Keimyou-san? How will I get missions if I live away from Sunagakure?"

"I made a deal with the Kazekage. You can be exempted from missions for a while, then you will come live here with me when you're 14. Four years is long enough for you to train up, ne?"

"Hai. But why do you want me to train? I thought experiential learning is the best."

"You have to train your stamina, Seki-chan. It's currently your only drawback."

"Oh," Seki said, suddenly realizing how many times their training was cut short due to her fainting out of exhaustion. Their food arrived just then, and the waiter noticed the forehead protector Seki had tied around her neck.

"Eh? A Genin already? You look very young, and new. Do you live in the Suna?"

"Iie, I live outside. And I'm ten by the way, that's not very young," Seki explained, frowning slightly. Keimyou and the waiter laughed, while Seki mumbled something about maturity. The waiter collected the money from keimyou and smiled gently at Seki, "Well, you look like you're going to be a great shinobi. I think you'll make Sunagakure no sato proud."

Seki's red pupils lit up. "Really?"

The waiter nodded and left Seki happily shouting, "Ittadakimasu!" before eating her ramen. Keimyou watched the newly promoted Genin proudly, and started on his own meal as well. They ate in comfortable silence, and only Seki turned around when she heard some people whispering about something dangerous behind her. She shrugged her shoulders, when Keimyou gave her an inquiring look. All she saw was a red head calmly walking down the street.

Nothing too dangerous.

-

"Okaasan! Is that a letter from otousan? Read it to me, please please please!" Seki jumped up and down as Enzeru walked into the family dining room, a letter in her hand. She laughed gently and placed a comforting hand on Seki's shoulder.

"Eat first, dear. It won't hurt if you read it later."

-

"_Houseki..."_

"_.. Bakemono!"_

But it did. It hurt Seki's very soul when she woke up from her coma. Her mother had told her that she loved Seki, during their dinner. And after that, she called her a bakemono.

It hurt, so much.

The priests came back after their trip, to find Seki still sitting in front of Enzeru. She was clutching her chest, and seemed to be bleeding.

But the blood wasn't hers.

"Leave us!" One of the priests had yelled at her. Seki turned towards him slowly and saw fear flash across his fire red pupils. She flinched, and they continued to curse her.

"Get away!"

"Go! We hate you!"

"No one wants you! Leave now!"

She left, after washing up and with the little things she was allowed to bring. Her mind was in a whirl, she was confused, and heart broken. She lost everyone. Her father, her mother, her whole clan. She was alone, and insecure.

So she had an attack, every time someone mentioned something that triggered that memory. The memory of her mother's paling face as she read the letter after dinner. Of her own hands that snatched the letter, which started to shake as she read line after line.

_...the Kazekage sends his deepest regrets..._

_...we could not revive him..._

_...Iwashi Raion has died..._

Of her mind swirling out of control as emotions ran wild in her body. Of her mother staring at her with fear and shock written in every feature. Then, black.

-

_Keimyou..._

Seki suddenly thought as she stared at the farmer she had killed a few minutes ago.

_Keimyou, in Sunagakure. He can help._

Seki slowly walked to the nearby river to wash off the blood, and looked back at the town behind her.

_They won't welcome me anymore. Just like the others._

Seki thought miserably and heaved the sling bag on her shoulder. She started to journey across the sands towards Sunagakure, away from the town that had welcomed her just last week. She thought about how they would react when they find the dead farmer, and smiled ruefully.

_That's what they get for welcoming a stray kitten._

_-_

_**...Present day...**_

Keimyou observed Seki's chest rising and falling, calculating the seconds in between until he was satisfied. He knew she would be fine. Her stamina was not up to standard, but she will survive.

_She survived a demon's bite, what else could kill her?_

He took one more glance at Seki before he left her room. There was little light in the room since there was no moon, but Keimyou could see his niece sleeping peacefully, her ever-so innocent smile on her face.

_She doesn't deserve what has happened to her._

Keimyou then thought about the boy who brought her home.

_And neither does he._

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** Ah, well this might explain a few things, ne? I didn't want this to be too fast, or too slow. I hope it was just nice. Well, I've updated, surely I deserve some reviews, no?

-JE


	7. Losing Control

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update, but I've been busy with this important camp of mine on December 20th and the preperations are killing me! Anyway, I've managed to squeeze in some time to finish this chapter before I leave for Malaysia tomorrow for a break. There's a lot more Gaara thoughts now, hope it's not OOC.

**Jenvaati: **Thanks soo much for reviewing my chapters! The stray cat thing just popped to me, btw. Heh, and I wish I could be rich too.

* * *

**Hurting**

Seki bit her lip as beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face. Her eye brows were scrunched up in concentration as she summoned the air beneath her again. The air swirled like a mini tornado and lifted Seki towards the canopy of the forest. She felt exhausted and wanted to rest, but forced herself to go higher.

It was her stamina training. Like how people gathered chakra on their feet to walk up the side of a tree, or on water, Seki used her bloodline limit to train her stamina and how much she could use her chakra. She had done this quite often over the years, but so far, she has never gotten higher than 3 stories high.

With that thought clinging to the back of her mind, Seki pushed herself higher and embedded more chakra into the air. Although she didn't waste any chakra, the use of it still weakened her. She wanted to reach as high as 4 stories, maybe even 5, and touch the canopy of the jungle she was training in.

She had come here so often for the past few days Keimyou hardly saw her at home. She had a stubborn streak, similar to her father's, and wanted to improve as fast as she could. On the first night after Gaara brought her home, Keimyou found Seki sprawled on the living room floor, too tired to make it to her room. It was very admirable, but Keimyou had to take care of her health as well, and warned Seki not to overdo it.

Seki tried to listen, but as thoughts of her father being killed by a mysterious shinobi flooded her mind, she could only aim for the top.

_Just a little, bit further..._

_**Nah, too far.**_

Seki could only growl angrily as the wind under her ceased it's spinning and she fell to the ground on her back.

"Chikushou!! I can never get anything right!" Seki yelled out as she rubbed her back, sore from falling so many times. She blinked away her tears of fustration, anger and pain. Seki looked up at the tall canopies of the trees, heart falling as she realised how many times she had already tried, but failed to reach it.

_Useless. I am nothing, unless I go insane._

The irony of it all, caused Seki to give a grim smile.

-

"That's the girl, isn't she?"

"She is still alive, after an encounter with the demon child?"

"She's really lucky!"

"Maybe she's in cahoots with him."

"I heard they had a relationship."

"No! How can anyone date such a monstrosity?"

Seki grimaced at the whispers, her irritation level rising to new heights. As if her clothes hadn't drawn enough attention already. The constant falling onto the forest floor had dirtied her orange sleeveless polo tee, and torn the ends of her pants. Dirt and mud covered parts of the orange cat design, and her sandles were torn. Seki hadn't bothered to check her appearance, if she had she would have been taken aback at her own disheveled hair and filthy cheeks.

_Can't they just leave me alone? Or at least, be less conspicuous?_

_**It's human nature to gossip, Ki-chan.**_

_Really? I don't, does that make me abnormal?_

Seki knew it was a stupid reason, but couldn't help but sag her shoulders as she thought of the word 'abnormal'.

_**No, you need someone to gossip with, Ki-chan.**_

She had developed a love-hate relationshop with that little voice in her head, and somehow even got the nickname 'Ki-chan'. But Seki still winced at its blunt answer, realising that after arriving at Sunagakure, the only friends she had made was Temari-chan.

Speaking of which...

"Seki! Seki, over here!" Temari's voice pierced her thoughts, as Seki raised her head to see the waving blonde sitting with her brothers. Her heart started to pound as the pair of bluish green eyes locked with hers again. She hadn't seen Gaara for the past week, and wondered if he had been avoiding her.

_**Pfft!**_

_Yeah, right. As if he would bother. I'm not that important._

Seki hid her disappointment behind a fake smile and stopped in front of a grinning Temari.

-

"_Yo! Seki-chan!"_

_Seki turned her head to see Sabaku no Temari standing in front of Keimyou's shop, and smiled politely._

"_Ohayo, Temari-chan. Why are you so early?"_

"_I came to help Kankurou collect weapons for his puppet. Stupid baka, can't even remember his own stuff," Seki giggled and went behind the counter to take the box of poison needles her brother had ordered a few days ago. She passed it to Temari and picked up her drink from the counter, the cold water was refreshing as she drowned it down her throat._

"_So Seki-chan, I heard about your date with Gaara the other night."_

_Seki choked on her water and pounded her chest with a fist, while Temari rushed over to her side and patted her back. She heard the 15 year old curse, "Kushou, it was just a remark, I didn't mean to kill you with it."_

_Seki would've laughed if she wasn't choking so badly that tears stung her eyes. "It's alright, arigatou," Seki panted out as she regained her normal breathing rate. Temari smirked and leaned on the counter, not intending to leave after seeing such a strong reaction from her._

"_So, you attracted to my brother, ne?"_

_Seki blushed furiously and brushed past Temari to pick up a broom and sweep the shop. Keimyou would come back soon to relieve her so she could go train, but she wanted the shop to be clean on his return. Temari didn't wait for a reply and moved on to another question. "I'm curious though, why aren't you afraid of him? Most girls would be running scared just by the sound of his name," Seki's sweeping slowed and Temari peered at her features. They were shadowed by her dyed hair, but the older teen could see Seki's eyes shine with tears._

"_I ca-can't..."_

"_You, can't...?" Temari prodded. Seki looked up at her, her expression showing desperation and hesitation at the same time. Temari knew that look and smiled reassuringly._

"_You can trust me. I may be a bitch, but I know how to keep a secret for a friend."_

Friend_, Seki thought with a flash of hope. She bit her lip, still unsure. Temari placed her arms around the girl clutching the broom so tightly her knuckles turned white. She held her for a while, and Seki let her tears roll down her face as she sighed in their warm embrace. She gave in after a while._

"_I can't feel fear, Temari-chan."_

_Temari looked down at the forest of brown and orange hair, puzzled. Seki continued to speak to Temari's chest, softly, but clearly, "A poison affects the back of my brain that ceases my sense of fear. I couldn't get scared even if I wanted to."_

"_How did you get this poison?"_

_Seki looked up, emotion cleared from her face as she said monotonously, as if she had repeated it many times before, "I was bitten by a demon at birth."_

_-_

"Ohayo, Temari-chan," Seki greeted at her friend. The two girls had grown tremendously close after that faithful morning, Seki's past spilling out like sand as she talked to Temari. She skipped her training to chat with the sister of the village's demon, and said shinobi was the only thing Temari wouldn't share.

"_I think you can ask him yourself."_

_Myself, eh? _Seki thought as her eyes wandered over to the red head again. He seemed oblivious to his surroundings, keeping his sight averted from the people around him, whispering and glaring. But Seki noticed that within those glares, held so much fear that proved no one would dare stand up against him, even if they wanted to. Seki nodded towards Kankurou, who was frowning at Temari. She wondered what had happened between them and looked at Temari for an answer.

A shrug.

"Seki-chan, I'm sorry but I can't train with you today. I have to help out at the Kazekage's office, how about tomorrow?"

"Hai. I want to thank you again for accompanying me," Seki replied, bowing slightly. Temari pushed her back up gently and had a soft smile on her face.

"Iie, it's fun to train with someone with similar attacks. As well as gender, and brains," Seki giggled as Temari gestured towards her purple face painted brother, who rolled his eyes in reply. Gaara stayed silent throughout the banter and merely stood up after finishing his meal. His siblings hastily followed suit, with Temari giving one last grin to her friend before walking off with the two guys. Seki waved a little, her spirits still dampened by Gaara's lack of expression towards her. She turned to walk into the restaurant to buy some breakfast, only to get shoved to the ground – hard.

"Who said you were welcome here?" A deep voice grunted at Seki. She pushed herself up, brushing sand off her usual orange polo tee and black pants before frowning at the man in front of her.

"The last time I heard, customers who wanted to eat some food were allowed to enter restaurants."

"Yeah, normal customers."

"Nani?" Seki exclaimed, bewildered. The burly sized man pointed an accusing finger at the teenager. "You are not welcomed here, because you are **not **normal."

"And who made you the judge of that?"

"Look around you, no one wants you here!"

Seki blinked at the vaguely familiar words and glanced at the customers in the restaurant. All of them were glaring at her, staring as if she was a mutant of some kind. The same look they had given Gaara, even the fear was lingering in them. She gritted her teeth in frustration and asked the man again, who seemed to be the manager of the restaurant, "So what? I **am **a normal customer, a customer who is hungry and wanting to eat."

"You can't be normal if you hang out with that demon child!"

This came from a woman at a nearby table, and similar hateful remarks started to rise from the tables around Seki.

"You two are in cahoots together!"

"Don't you dare hurt my family!"

"Only a bakemono would be friends with a demon!"

"_...Bakemono!"_

"...I-Iie!" Seki shook her head, hands covering her ears as the shouts became louder and fiercer.

"The two of you should leave!"

"_Leave us!"_

Memories burst like a forest fire and spread quickly in Seki's mind as she shook her head wildly. Her knees gave way and she dropped to the ground, still clutching her hair to the point of ripping it off. And still, the cries of detest continued.

"Go away!"

"_Get away!"_

"You're not welcomed here, so why don't you go?!"

"_Go! We hate you!"_

"_No one wants you! Leave now!"_

"You're not wanted here! And neither is that bakemono, so why don't you do us all a favor and..."

"IIE!!" Seki let out a blood-chilling scream, cutting the manager short. His once annoyed face soon faded and paled as Seki shakily stood up, cracking her knuckles audibly. Her hair was in a mess, her clothes dirtied with sand and sweat, but her voice delivered a chill down everyone's spines.

"Gaara... is not a bakemono..." Mothers pulled their children close and men took up poles to defend themselves, as Seki opened her eyes, no longer bright red.

"And neither am I!" Seki felt anger overwhelm her, but she did not fight it. She did not try to suppress it, she did not _want to_ suppress it.

_They deserve it._

That was Seki's last thought before insanity took over her body.

-

Gaara watched with interest as her eyes revealed a deep magenta, with the blood lust he was so familiar with, shining deep within her pupils. Seki raised her hands slowly, and a man, underestimating Seki's frightful appearance, leaped towards her with a pole, aiming her right shoulder.

_Baka,_ Gaara thought, smirking.

A tornado shot out fast and dug deep into the man's chest, breaking his rib cage instantly. Seki thrusted her palms in the directions the other men were jumping from, tornadoes appearing within her hands and colliding with the men. The breaking of bones echoed in the air, along with the cries of pain.

The manager who started all this quickly led the women and children out of harm's way as more men from the area came forward to help their comrades. Seki flipped backwards with as much agility as a cat and dropped to the ground on all fours, clawing the ground with her suddenly long fingernails. Five men cornered her wielding spears, trying to pierce her, but Seki avoided each attempt. Using air to sharpen her nails, she then scratched each men in turn, sprinting between them so fast that no one could see her.

Blood spurted out of the men's wounds, and their shouts gave Seki a sense of insane satisfaction. One that only Gaara could understand, as he watched her expressions. The men gripped their wounded limbs, edging away from her, but Seki was not done with them yet. Using her wind, she lifted the men in the air, spinning them so fast and then throwing them against buildings, their blood staining the clean white walls.

Gaara watched all this with pure fascination, not that anyone would've noticed if they saw his emotionless face. But inside, his mind was wheeling and thoughts raced through his head, each one trying to stay in his mind for more than three seconds.

_Her powers are not like during her training._

_She has the same chakra but she's not the same person._

_She is nearly killing everyone without thinking._

_Would she want this?_

That last thought struck his senses and Gaara looked at the now dangerous Seki. She was flinging a couple of kunais into the thighs of two men, so fast they barely felt the pain until moments later. When they did realize it, Seki had already punched them on the head so hard their skull cracked and they fell limp on the ground. Them and a few others.

Her eyes flashed around crazily, magenta pupils widening as they search for more attackers. Gaara saw no determination, no kindness, no curiosity.

No loneliness.

He knew that this insane girl was not the Seki Raion he knew, and he knew she would not kill people this mercilessly.

_Like me_, Gaara thought bitterly. He had not known this girl for a long time, but something struck him about her, that made him feel like he had to do something. Even though the villagers did not deserve someone's help...

_No, this is not for them. It's for her._

_**You doing something for her now, my Jinchuriki? Hehehe.**_

Gaara froze at the voice of his demon, the Shukaku. It was the first time he actually spoke proper words, and the way he said 'my Jinchuriki' made Gaara shiver inwardly.

_**What is so special about her? You've stopped me twice, but don't start thinking you're in control, ne?**_

_**I'm still the one in charge.**_

_Not... now._

Gaara thought, surprisingly retorting back at the Shukaku. He watched Seki's attempts to kill the men who attacked her, all the while knowing it was the last thing she wanted -

To kill the people she wanted to love, and receive love from.

Deciding against the Shukaku's snarls, Gaara stepped out from behind the building, his tattoo glowing brightly under the sun. Seki spun round to face her new enemy, her whole figure splattered with blood not her own. The orange polo tee she loved was slightly ripped at the edges, her black pants were muddy from the sand and her sandals were caked with dried blood. Seki gave an evil looking smirk and picked up a kunai from the ground. In a flash, it was in the air zooming straight at Gaara's forehead. Sand shot up to block the attack, Seki narrowing her eyes at the ultimate defence.

The Shukaku container was impressed. Obviously this was a whole new side of Seki that did not remember, nor know anything before hand other than fighting skills. She viewed Gaara as a new attacker and was smart enough to test his reflexes, or in his case, his defence. With that, Seki pulled her shoulders back and showed the nails as sharp as tiger's claws, as if telling Gaara to begin.

"_Gaara... is not a bakemono..." _

"_And neither am I!"_

Gaara held this thought in his mind as he crossed his arms and faced his opponent. She had severely injured nearly twenty men for the past half hour and was still standing strong. She bared her teeth, which sprouted fangs and dropped to the ground in a cat-like position. Gaara's sand rose behind him, ready to protect the sand master from getting hurt. Seki's magenta eyes glowered with blood thirsty lust, licking her tongue hungrily as she eyed Gaara.

_Those are not her eyes._

With that, Gaara attacked.

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** I had some difficulty making Seki seem insane and everything because I've just grown to LOVE her. Heh, anyway cut me some slack too, I hardly see anyone portraying Shukaku properly so I don't know how to either. Anyway, cliffhanger for some suspense. Prepare for some kick butt action in the next chapter, ne? Off to my holiday, Ja ne!

-JE


	8. Fighting For Her

**A/N: **I only like the fighting part, not too happy with what happened after that though. My fingers have a mind of its own, and refuses to follow my original story plan. Bah, enjoy this chapter though, I took a lot of time to do it.

* * *

**Hurting**

Gaara panted slightly as his sand blocked yet another one of Seki's lightning fast kunais. He heard a thump to his side as the sand stopped one of her kicks, and a second punch to his shoulder. She was fast, but Gaara's sand was to be the ultimate defense, and unless she had obtained speed as fast as light, there was no breaking through it. Gaara swiped his hand towards the agile girl, who easily avoided the wave of sand with a few jumps. He opened his palm towards her.

"_Sabaku Kyu!_"

Gaara's sand wrapped itself around Seki tightly, and he nearly formed a smirk when suddenly Seki grinned mischievously and evaporated into the air. The sand dropped to the ground as the wind clone disappeared and the real on squatted on the ground behind it, grinning evilly.

Gaara knew his chakra would be drained if he continued to launch fruitless attacks at her. He decided to wait for her next move, which she delivered immediately. A few seals later, Seki had jumped onto a tree branch and aimed her fingers at Gaara.

"_Kaze Hari!_"

Gaara quickly commanded his sand to enclose him in a cocoon, having seen her attack and knew that the needles did not appear only from her fingers, but from the air around as well. Several clicks were heard as the needles lodged themselves into the sand so fast that it did not harden in time. Gaara felt confident though, since the needles could not pierce through his defense

"_Kaze no Rensei Hari!_"

Gaara's eyes widened as he watched, half horrified and half amazed when a silver tip of a needle appeared in front of him. He fell backwards as that needle shot straight across, followed by a hundred others. A net of wind seemed to have formed above him as he lay on his back. Some of the needles that aimed for the bottom scratched into his sand armor, not too deep, but the impact gave Gaara a slight shock.

_How did she..?_

The sand guard fell back to the ground after it sensed the lack of danger – for now. Gaara got up, and saw Seki panting as much as him, whether exhaustion or surprise, he didn't know. The only thing he was paying attention to, was Shukaku's sudden presence in his mind.

_**She is strong. Maybe I should give you a hand.**_

_No, wait...!_

_**... Hn?**_

_I'll... handle it myself._

Gaara heard no reply and dodged a flying needle, even though it was already blocked by a wall of sand. He focused his ocean colored eyes on her posture and her chest as it rose and fell.

_She's weakening. Good._

Gaara knew her stamina was not yet up to standard, but apparently some of her training had paid off. It was already close to an hour and Seki had not shown any signs of returning back to normal. Gaara did not know if she would be alright, but felt that stopping her is exactly what she wanted.

What he had wanted.

Seki formed similar seals, and Gaara's sand rose to build a cocoon around him once more. A shout was heard and the red head saw the air needles drilling through his sand again. He willed his sand to harden even more, while wondering why the needles could penetrate his defense He watched the needle slow down its drilling as the sand became too thick to drill through and took a closer look. The air needle was motionless for a moment, before it dissolved back into the air. Gaara racked his brains frantically, although no one would have known by his emotionless expression. More needles were penetrating, pushing the sand towards Gaara and into his clothes as the area around him grew smaller. He felt sand seep into his shirt and pockets, making him feel incredibly uncomfortable.

_Pockets._

Gaara's sand broke down as he leaped into the air, above the killing needles. Seki's magenta eyes followed him and aimed more needles at his floating figure. Even at such a height, Gaara paid more attention to his opponent's weapons.

Just as he thought, the needles grew bigger and sharper as it drilled through the air towards him. Gaara landed down onto a sand cloud that protected him once again from the needles made of air. This time, it dissolved quickly back as wind, as Seki had not much stamina left to make them last longer.

He watched as her pupils drifted from magenta back to bright red. She was weak, tired of all that fighting and her mind could no longer take it. As a last resort, Seki wrapped her wind chakra over herself and dashed towards Gaara, who frowned.

He didn't want to hurt her. Not at all.

But he had to, and increased the shield's toughness as it rose up to defend its master one more time. Seki's insane mind did not predict that, and pummeled head first into the sand wall, now almost as tough as iron. As the wall fell away, Gaara looked upon the slim figure sprawled on the sandy ground.

Her face somehow seemed much kinder than a few minutes ago, looking as though she was sleeping peacefully. Gaara reached out with both hands, hesitated, then picked her up bridal style before leaping away in a flash.

-

"Oh, Seki-chan! Not again!"

Seki could not hear her uncle's cry as Gaara carried her into Keimyou's living room. Keimyou led him instead to her bedroom, where Gaara let his sand put her gently onto the mattress. Keimyou stumbled over his words of gratitude and thanks, rambling away about how he wasn't a very good guardian. Gaara paid his attention on his now sleeping opponent, and despite him wanting to keep his silent demeanor, he could not help but ask,

"What happened to her, Keimyou."

Just the mention of his name coming out from the always unspeaking teenager cut Keimyou short and made him direct his eyes over to his niece Her clothes were dirty and pants ripped. Her face was filthy and her hair was disheveled. Seki had obviously been in a battle, and probably fighting with Gaara. If that was the case...

"She fought with me, and I nearly lost."

_That's gotta be a huge blow to his ego_, Keimyou thought, amused. He kept his face straight however, concentrating on the fact that Seki had, indeed, been fighting with Gaara. His mind scrambled to an answer, _the poison activated then._

"..."

Keimyou looked up at Gaara's pointed silence, and gave a grim smile.

"She's similar to you Gaara, except what resides in her is not a demon, but a poison."

Gaara remained emotionless, but if Seki was awake she would've seen the teal eyes betray him.

_Poison...?_

"12 years ago, an unknown demon bit Seki on the head when she was just born. It wasn't until a few years later did our clan and I realize that the fangs from the demon had poison which seeped into a small part of her brain. Whenever she is upset or angered, she gets an attack and the poison fills her whole chakra system. Seki then goes insane and attacks anyone in her path. She is both dangerous and powerful by then, but usually it hardly lasts for more than 10 minutes..."

"She fought for almost an hour."

"Well, at least her stamina training is working, ne?" Keimyou smiled weakly and sat on the side of Seki's bed, caressing her face as she gave a small hint of a smile. Gaara watched this, his heart pounding more than ever. Seki's life had almost been like his then, with the attacks most people would detest her, scorn her and shun her.

_Loneliness. Helplessness. Pleading eyes, that just want to be loved regardless._

_You suffered too, Seki. _Gaara thought, his legs refusing to move at his command. He wanted to get out, and let Keimyou have his private time with Seki, but he couldn't. He didn't want to.

"I have told you a part of her past. There is still some things even I do not know, like her journey to come here. You can ask her if you want, just as I have told her to ask you, if she wants."

Gaara turned his head towards Keimyou, his sincere expression making Gaara suspicious.

"I believe Seki has told Temari almost everything. So, she shouldn't be too mad when she finds out I told you a bit too," Keimyou chuckled and looked back at Seki. This time, Gaara made it out of Keimyou's house. He shunshin to somewhere even he didn't know, just wasting his chakra so that he would feel too weak to think about anything. His heart was overflowing with emotions, overflowing with words. He had received so many, seemingly honest and kind. But which ones were really true. He suddenly thought about what Temari had said before he went back to see Seki. It was after they had left her at the restaurant, before he saw her other insane self.

-

"_Ne, Temari-chan. Why are you friends with that girl?"_

"_Because i can finally have a conversation with someone smarter than you, baka," came Temari's answer to Kankurou's question. He grumbled quietly, and shoved his hands in his pockets. Gaara made no motion to this and continued to walk towards the Kazekage mansion._

"_Gaara."_

_Gaara barely turned around at Temari's voice, flinching slightly at the use of his name. His sister knew she had his attention and went on, "Seki is really nice. I think you'll find that she has a lot in common with you."_

_Gaara turned on his heel and faced her. He was shorter than her, but his eyes intimidated her nonetheless._

"_Shut up."_

_Temari froze at his words, and watched as he turned back to walk on. Usually, she would obey her otouto's words, but he was too stubborn at times._

"_Why don't you ask her why she is not afraid of you?"_

_Gaara stopped, half wondering, and half aware that Temari had not done what he had told her to do. Kankurou stood at the side, expecting sand to crawl up Temari's legs any minute._

_His brother, however, did a shunshin back to the restaurant._

_Kankurou and Temari stared at the spot Gaara was a while ago, until Kankurou broke the silence._

"_Why does he only threaten to kill ME?"_

_-_

_She knew._

Gaara realized as he thought about Temari's words.

_She knew the reason Seki isn't scared of me._

Gaara sat up on the sand, running his hands through his hair. Pulling it, Gaara felt the pain, but his stress did not leave him. He raised his head, looking towards the barely visible gates of Sunagakure in a distance.

_Maybe, I should ask her._

_Maybe, she could understand._

_-

* * *

_

**A/N:** This is a little shorter than the others, but I promise it'll be better with some reviews!

**_Sabaku Kyu _**- Desert Coffin  
**_Kaze no Rensei Hari _**- Drilling Wind Needles

Fingers: review, please!

-JE


	9. Ittadakimasu

**A/N: **Ok so i wasn't intending to stay away for two weeks. But I have a new system now! Like now, I've already written chapter ten, but I will not post it until I write finish chapter eleven. That way I will stay effecient! So here's the new version of chapter 9, hope you would prefer this.

* * *

**Hurting**

Like all children, Kankurou hated being scolded by his father.

But unlike them, Kankurou also hated being praised.

"Excellent, Kankurou. You may leave now," the Kazekage ordered, a hint of excitement laced in his tone. Kankurou shivered inwardly as he recalled the last time he heard his father talk like that. He bowed, before turning to leave. As he opened the door however, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Kazekage-sama, why do you need the records of the Raion clan?"

Kankurou kept his eyes on the door handle, pretending to admire its brilliant design even though he knew his father was already staring at him with narrowed eyes. He wanted to know however, after peeking through the records and finding Houseki Raion's name within the section "Private and Confidential".

Temari had mentioned that Seki's real name was Houseki, that morning after she left to help him collect some weapons for Karasu. She took almost 3 hours too...

"Nani? Are you interested, Kankurou?"

"Iie, I'm just wondering."

"Hn. Well, if you must know..."

_Now that you talk like that, I don't._

"...They are going to be important for the future of Sunagakure."

Kankurou turned to look at the Kazekage, noticing for the first time that his father was actually smiling.

_That can't be good_, Kankurou thought. He frowned, bowing again and leaving the room.

-

"Seki, you need to eat."

"Go away."

"Seki, please. It pains me to see you like this."

_**He must have laser eyes then, since the door is closed.**_

_Shut up!_

Seki curled into a ball as her uncle tried again to get her to come out and eat. She gripped her blanket and bit her lip, trying to prevent her tears from falling.

"Seki, listen. It was not that bad..."

"Not that bad? NOT THAT BAD?!"

"Seki calm down!"

"I train so hard to improve my stamina, and when I finally achieve it, what do I do?! I GO INSANE!"

"Seki, please!"

"No! Just leave me alone!" Seki screamed and jumped out of her bed. She picked up the lamp on her bedside table and threw it towards the wall, causing it to smash in pieces. Dropping to her knees, Seki gripped her brown hair, the orange dye having lost it's effects after 3 days. Her tears started to fall.

"Keimyou-san, I didn't wa-want to kill..."

But I sa-said they deser-deserved it," Seki hugged herself, choking and stumbling over her words as her tears fell non-stop.

"It's alright. You didn't kill anyone, the men were injured, but they'll live."

"But now they'll hate me! They'll hate me, and want to drive me away!" Seki exclaimed, her teary, red eyes looking over to the door. It was only a few moments later she realized the last voice belonged to a female.

"Then don't care about their hate."

Seki pulled the door open and saw Temari smiling gently at her. Unable to stop herself, Seki collapsed into her arms while sobbing uncontrollably. Keimyou sighed with relief and walked back to the kitchen, giving the two girls some privacy. The older girl made soothing noises, just like what her mother would do whenever the Kazekage was too fierce to Temari, too expectant of her. Seki soon calmed down until her sobbing became hiccups.

"When Gaara was born, I used to do this to Kankurou, you know?"

"..." Seki dried her tears with Temari's shirt, but did not look up.

"Because our okaasan died, 'sacrificed' herself according to the Kazekage," Seki heard the sarcasm in Temari's voice and sat up to face her. Temari continued as she held Seki steady, "So Kankurou had to rely on his older sister – me," Temari grinned, but it disappeared as Seki waited to hear the rest of her story.

"People hated us even though we two didn't do anything but watch our okaasan curse this village up till the last moment of her life. We lost most of our friends, because their parents hated Gaara and wouldn't let their children be with his siblings."

"Temari, I..."

"Shush, I'm talking," Temari scolded jokingly. Seki fell silent and let out a soft laugh. Temari took a deep breath and went on, "As a result, the two of us, Kankurou and I, were influenced by the villagers and detested Gaara as well. He was indirectly the cause of our misery anyway, so it wasn't hard."

But one day I saw Gaara crying. My sad younger brother was hurting, he needed help, and I wanted to help him. I _had_ to help him, because who could he turn to if not his own family? But by the time I decided to help, he had already let hate run his life. But I tried, still trying, and will always try. Because I knew the truth"

Temari squeezed Seki's hand as the blond gave her a reassuring smile.

"What I really want to say, is that it doesn't matter if they hate you. Just focus on what you know is true," Seki's eyes widened. She averted her eyes to the ground and looked at her hands, the same hands that killed innocent lives.

"You didn't want to hurt them. You want to be a shinobi, and what do shinobis do?"

Seki turned her hands over and suddenly saw them in a different light. She cocked her head to one side and saw them training to perfect taijutsu moves, performing seals for a hard jutsu.

_...But no matter what, I wanted to be a shinobi, so that people would see that I could be good."_

"Shinobis... help people. They are the good guys and..."

Temari waited.

... And they never give up."

"Just like you?"

"... Just like us," Seki finished. She looked at Temari and smiled, who returned with a playful grin, just like always. Seki hugged her tightly, thankful for having met someone like her, and for relieving the pain in her heart, even if it was just a little.

_**Just a little, Ki-chan. But it's a start.**_

_Yes_, Seki thought positively. Temari stood up and pulled Seki along with her.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat. Then we'll go train."

"Hai!" Seki nodded and the two girls walked to the dining table where Keimyou had already laid two servings of warm soup.

_I'm still hurting, but yes..._

"Ittadakimasu!" Temari and Seki yelled out and giggled.

_...it's a start._

-

"I don't see the need to make a fool of myself, even if I like cats."

"Cats have nothing to do with it, and I am not making a fool of myself!"

"You're wearing a cat-eared head dress and do not look like fool? Right, makes sense."

Temari watched her brother and friend continue to argue ever since the two girls finished their training. After two hours of windy battles, Temari had assumed Seki was too tired to even walk, let alone have a squabble with Kankurou, who had come by to find Temari.

"Did you use your wind to blow Sunagakure away? I don't see anyone."

"Are you sure it's not because of your silly face paint? I mean, that could scare kids away."

_Apparently not_, Temari thought, amused.

"What about your hair? It looks like it exploded."

"Kids are probably scared you'll take their dolls away!"

"Your wind must have blown your brain to the Land of Fire!"

"You play with toys!"

"You play with nothing!"

"Stupid freak!"

"Ugly baka!"

"Okay, okay! Relax, you two!"

Kankurou and Seki looked at Temari, before realizing both of them had gone into attack stance at the last remarks.

_Well, at least he doesn't seem so uncomfortable around me anymore_, Seki thought as she kept her kunai.

_Well, she doesn't seem too bad_, Kankurou thought, releasing his grip on Karasu's bandages.

The trio finally arrived behind the Kazekage mansion, where a large, beige colored house sat peacefully. Seki had been invited to dinner by Temari and after a quick call at Keimyou's place to inform him, Seki had followed the two siblings back to their home.

_I wonder if Gaara's already home_, Seki thought apprehensively and imitated Temari as she took off her sandals before walking in.

"Alright, so what would you like for dinner, Seki-chan?"

"You're not cooking, are you?" Seki smirked at Kankurou's horrified expression. Temari didn't seem to notice as she opened the fridge, but was cut off before she could confirm Kankurou's worst fear.

"Be-Because I haven't tried Seki's cooking yet!"

"Oh, right! Keimyou said you learned a few skills from him. Maybe you can cook tonight, Seki-chan!"

"Hai, then," Seki agreed, trying to contain her laughter as Kankurou heaved a sigh of relief. Temari saw it and, although not knowing why he was sighing, gave him a whack on the head anyway.

-

Gaara came back to a delightful aroma of home cooked food, something he had not smelled in, well, never. Walking in, he saw Kankurou yelling at someone in the kitchen.

"Just because you can cook, doesn't mean you can take your time!"

"Would you rather I get Temari to help?" A familiar voice tingled Gaara's senses as worry flashed in Kankurou's face.

"Like I said, take all the time you want!" Kankurou finally yelled and turned to see Gaara raising an invisible eyebrow.

"Oh, hey. Seki is cooking today," Kankurou quickly stated and played with his fork.

_Seki?_

"Dinner is served!" Temari yelled and walked out with a steaming pot of something, Seki right behind her, giggling. Gaara's teal colored eyes widened as Seki burst out in laughter at Temari whacking Kankurou to the other side of the room when he tried to look inside the pot. It was hard to imagine the same girl nearly killed him, and was now laughing happily at Kankurou and Temari's childish antics.

"Gaara! Welcome back!" Seki turned towards Gaara at Temari's voice, and smiled shyly as Gaara continued to gaze intently at her. She quickly took a seat beside Kankurou, where the red head, coincidentally, always sat opposite from, beside Temari. The two of them kept quiet as Temari spooned out the contents of the pot into smaller bowls and placed them in front of Seki and Gaara.

"Ittadakimasu!" Kankurou exclaimed before devouring the 'stew', as Temari called it, knowing it would be ten times better than Temari's cooking.

"Ittadakimasu," Temari said with less vigor once she noticed Gaara and Seki's silence, but ate heartily anyway.

"This is really good, Seki!"

"Arigatou," Seki thanked softly and raised her head. Gaara was staring at the brownish stew with no obvious signs of moving, so Seki decided to start first.

"Ittadakimasu!"

"Ittadakimasu."

Temari and Kankurou stopped their loud slurping and stared at Gaara and Seki, who had said the polite greeting at the same time. They were more shocked at the fact Gaara had actually _said_ it, unlike previous times when he just ate without saying.

Seki didn't realize it was such a huge deal and started to eat, until she looked up to see Temari and Kankurou still gaping at them.

"What's wro..."

"Eat or I'll kill you."

Seki watched the two quickly revert back to devouring mode and turned to see Gaara eating his stew slowly. Grinning, Seki ate her meal in comfortable silence.

-

Gaara leaped up onto the roof and was greeted with giggles, the sound making his heart pound as he found the source of them sitting on the edge of the roof.

"Do you have to end everything with a death threat?"

Without waiting for a reply, Seki laughed again, earning herself nothing more than Gaara's silence. He sat himself down beside her and the two watched the moon rise higher into the sky, casting an eerie glow on the roof tops of the village.

Seki had said good bye earlier that evening, but decided to meet Gaara after they exchanged glances at the door. No words were spoken, but somehow Seki felt like he wanted to tell her something.

And he did.

"Seki, I want to tell you..."

Seki turned towards the pair of ocean eyes, feeling herself getting sucked into them...

-

* * *

**A/N: **Ah, and here's a cliffhanger. Haha, don't worry, I don't have a writer's block and even with the new school year starting, I'm very, very, very bored. SO I have time to do this stuff before the homework pile comes in. Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next chapter! 

-JE


	10. Wounds

**A/N: **I apologize profusely for being so darn late, but I had no idea my chapter ten was still in the documents section. Not to mention I accidentally deleted my chapter eleven! _cries_. I am also trying to juggle both my schoolwork and my competition training. I'm glad that there are two new reviewers, enjoy the story eh. This is such an emotional chapter, but I copied most of Gaara's phrases from the show, so as to keep it in character. Sorry once again!

**LesMiserables: **Thank you!! I feel honoured.  
**Evilfangirl:** Hope you love this story too, and catch up soon! Nice nick btw.

* * *

**Hurting**

Seki stumbled over to her bed, collapsing on the warm covers and wrapping herself with them.

_As if I were so pitiful, Gaara is really the more unfortunate one! _Seki thought furiously as she buried her head into her pillow.

_**Never saw it coming, eh Ki-chan?**_

_No, not one bit_.

Seki opened her eyes slowly and let her gaze travel towards the open window. Seki admired the cold, yet beautiful scenery before her, the half moon placed against a black background with a few twinkling stars.

_Could you, give me time?_

Seki smiled softly, her soft red eyes lowering as she felt her fingers.

-

_**...Several hours ago...**_

"Seki, I want to tell you..."

Seki turned towards the pair of ocean eyes, feeling herself getting sucked into them. Gaara hesitated, and Seki had a feeling he wasn't used to taking the initiative

"Why are you a demon, Gaara?"

Gaara smiled gratefully inside and took a deep breath, before he started to explained.

"I took the life of a woman who was called my okaasan when I was born in order to become the ultimate ninja. My otousan used a ninja technique to bind an incarnate of sand to me. I was a bakemono at birth."

"Incarnate of sand?"

"It is called Shukaku, and it was sealed in a teakettle. It is a living soul of an elder priest from the Hidden Village of Sand."

Seki's eyes grew big, and shock replaced the absent fear. "Shu-Shukaku? Isn't that the ichibi?"

As Gaara nodded stiffly, thoughts raced around in Seki's mind.

_It's like from the stories okaasan told me. They were true after all!_

_**She wanted you to feel better about yourself, eh Ki-chan?**_

_Hai... But I never did believe her._

"I was created to become the village's masterpiece, and as Kazekage's son, my father taught me the secrets of ninja techniques," Seki noted the bitterness in his voice. "I grew up after being overprotected, spoiled and left alone."

"You didn't have anyone to love you?"

A grim chuckle came from Gaara, and made Seki's hair stand on end.

"I thought that was love, until that day."

"What da..."

"Do you remember the first night you arrived, when I told you about people who wanted to..."

"...kill you? How could I forget?" Seki grinned. "People wanted to assassinate you."

Gaara nodded slightly. "These past six years, starting from when I was six, my father tried to assassinate me numerous times," the grin slid off Seki's face. "Since I was born from the usage of a technique, my mind was unstable. The people finally noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. As a result, after I turned six, they classified me as a dangerous being. I was the village's dangerous tool, but to Kazekage, I was also the village's trump card."

"I needed a reason, why I was still alive. Why I existed, or it would be the same as me being dead."

_A reason, to live_. Seki knew what it felt like, when she was constantly thrown out of the towns she stayed in, she wanted to know why she lived.

"And this is what I concluded. I exist to kill everyone other than me."

"Na-Nani?!"

"I finally found relief inside the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to recognize my reason to live. As long as there are people to kill in this world, to make me experience the joy of living, my existence will remain."

"What shit is _that_!?"

Gaara turned in surprise, to see Seki on her feet, anger raging within her ruby pupils. He frowned. "I told you before, that night when you fainted."

"Yeah, but who's to say I was too tired to realize it was true? Kami-sama, 'experience the joy of living'? You can't do that if you kill people!"

"I have no other reason."

"Yes, you do! You have Temari, and Kankurou! You have my uncle, you have _me_!"

Silence enveloped their surroundings, as Seki realized what she just said. Gaara seemed to be absorbing it slowly, but he was unsure how to express it. Seki looked around, trying to find words to convince the red head that

his life was not that, that _worthless_.

"You're a shinobi! A shinobi is supposed to serve his country, and help mankind!"

"Why do I want to help the people who hate and scorn me?"

"Not everyone is like that, I don't hate you."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm the same as you!" Seki yelled out. Gaara, although knowing the girl in front of him had suffered like him, could not understand how she was similar to the likes of him.

She loved and had been loved before. She had a proper family, a life. He had been through this since he was born. She wasn't the same. They weren't the same.

"We aren't the same. You can't understand..."

"Loneliness? Helplessness? Wanting to be loved, regardless? It doesn't matter if I experienced it a lot less than you did, Gaara. I know what goes on inside your heart and you do not need to let hate run your life!"

Do you know what it is like, to have something and then having it ripped away because of you? Do you!?"

"Yes," Gaara answered quietly, his face nearly completely shadowed as his tone lowered to a dangerous level. Memories of a familiar looking uncle emerged from within the deepest corner of his mind and his fury was slowly building up. However, Seki ignored the sand seeping into her sandals, because all she was focusing on right now, was getting through Gaara's thick head.

"Then both of us are the same. You know why?"

Gaara raised his head. Teal versus red.

"Because we're hurting."

"..."

Seki whipped out a kunai and created a small cut on her finger, unknowingly relieving memories from deep inside Gaara's heart.

"We hurt from flesh wounds, but right now this blood is coming from my heart. We're both hurting, Gaara, because we have a wound in our heart."

_Flesh wounds bleed..._

_...But the tricky wounds are the ones in your heart._

"There is only one way to cure it, but we have to open our heart first, and accept the cure."

_The thing that can heal a wound of the heart is Love._

"If you don't accept it, you won't receive it, and you'll be hurting forever."

Gaara watched as Seki's face changed to Yashamaru and back again. It seemed like they were speaking the same thing, yet it was different. The brown haired girl saw no change of expression and lowered her head while clenching her fists.

"Could you, give me time?"

Seki's head snapped up. She calmed down and let her fingers relax as a smile grew on her face. Nodding, Seki kept her kunai and walked to the other end of the roof top.

"Gaara," Gaara's eyes followed the source of the voice. "Even if I could feel fear, I wouldn't be afraid of the Shukaku."

Seki turned her head to look back at the red head. Confusion filled his eyes.

"Because you're there."

Gaara felt a jolt in his chest as the teenager before him disappeared in a flash.

-

The cut on her finger had already healed, and formed a little bump. Seki brushed her thumb over it, feeling the pain as she did.

But it was nothing compared to the pain that haunted her and Gaara.

_Nothing at all._

-

* * *

**A/N:** My apologies once again for being so overdue. I don't really have the strength to rewrite chapter 11, which is pretty long as it explains some of Gaara's past. I'm sorry, but I will try if everyone still likes the story. Sorry, again. -JE 


	11. A Photo

**A/N: **I finally redid chapter 11. _whew_. It was extremely hard to do, mind you, because my mind now and then is totally different and the last version is so much better. I hope this new one is up to your expectations. XD

This one is about Kankurou! I thought he had too little page appearance, so here he is. Too bad I had to redo the chapter.

**Rambie: **I did. Thanks for the info.  
**Hibiki-chan:** Sure thing. Lol.  
**Ehree:** I will, but not this one. Maybe the next, because I feel special. Lol.

* * *

**Hurting**

_Rustle, rustle._

Temari tightened the grip on her fan as her sharp ears caught the rustling sound of the bushes nearby. She decided to let her opponent have the first move and stayed in her position, her eyes trying to spot for a hint of orange hiding behind the bushes.

A soft 'snap' made Temari throw her fan from her right hand to the other as she defended herself against a flying kunai. It had not even reached the ground before a few more came shooting from within the bushes, soaring through the air from every direction. Temari expertly handled her iron fan and protected herself from most of the kunais and shurikens, the weapons clanging loudly against it. One more came zooming from below, creating a small cut on Temari's left leg, making her wince as it did. As blood slowly oozed out, Temari thought quickly and used her fan as a boost to jump up in the air, watching as a second wave of weapons crossed each other in the circular area she had been. Swinging her fan behind her, Temari stored her chakra into it and called out,

"_Daikamaitachi no jutsu_!"

Several cutting gusts of wind appeared and blew the bushes and weapons away. Temari landed on a tree branch, taking note of a few traps that had launched the weapons, hidden behind the bushes, as well as the fact some of the weapons were merely illusions.

Temari smirked.

_Smart girl._

-

Seki stared intently at the scene below her, admiring Temari's swift movements as her traps were being blown away. Crouching down, Seki prepared to leap away from the canopy she had been since they started training. She made sure not to make a sound, as she did when setting up the traps. Keeping an eye on Temari, Seki silently landed below her and thrusted her palms upowards the branch Temari was on.

"_Kaze no rensei hari_!"

Seki stepped to the side as the branch broke into pieces and went crashing down to the forest floor. She frowned when she heard a small 'poof' and Temari's falling body was replaced by a log, and quickly leaped to the next branch. A few more jumps and she landed back on the ground, knowing that Temari's fan would not be able to hold her that long in the air. Seki decided to use this chance, and clapped her hands together while embedding more chakra into her air.

Slowly opening her palms, a tornado could be seen growing in between both palms and when Seki heard a soft break of a twig behind her, she swerved on her heel and pushed the tornado towards Temari.

Temari brought her fan to the front, to defend herself against the impact, but was still thrown back due to its size. The blond smacked against a tree with a load yelp, and dropped to the ground on her hands and knees. Seki herself tried to maintain her balance as a smile slowly grew.

"Surprised?"

Temari lifted her head, panting heavily as she pulled herself up with her fan. She smirked good naturedly.

"So was I," Seki answered her own question and fell backwards on the ground.

_**Don't forget me.**_

_Urusai._

Temari appeared beside her, extending her hand to help Seki up.

"Again? You're getting better at controlling your tornadoes."

Seki laughed softly and took the older girl's hand before getting up. She nodded, her red eyes sparkling brightly with determination like jewels. Temari walked backwards, doing seals for a shunshin jutsu as she did.

"Bring it on, Seki-chan," Seki grinned at Temari's taunt, a few strategies already forming in her head.

"Bring it on."

-

Kankurou and Seki glared at each other, their mind gears working furiously to find new insults for the other party.

"You're as heartless as a shinigami, Kankurou!"

"It was just a kid, who insulted you too, might I add!"

"So? It was still mean, you puppet-obsessed boy!"

"And I suppose you're supposed to be the windy witch of the West or something?"

"It's wicked witch of the West, baka!"

"So! You admit the fact that you're wicked!"

Temari watched the scene before her, laughing occasionally with every sarcastic comment the two could come up with. It was like they couldn't click well, yet they did.

_I wonder where she gets the energy_, Temari thought as she looked back and forth at her brother and her best friend. They were arguing because Kankurou, after coming to meet up with the two girls, had scared off a child, probably about 5, who called Seki a bakemono. Even though Seki was obviously hurt, she seemed peeved off at the fact Kankurou used one of his scary looking puppets to nearly strangle the kid. Seki had a big heart, so did Kankurou. Temari smiled at this and placed each of her hands on both of their shoulders just as they arrived at the sand siblings' place.

"If you guys don't stop fighting, I'll whack the both of you senseless," Temari smirked as she saw both teenagers glance at her iron fan at the same time. Grinning broadly, Kankurou rested his arm over Seki's shoulders while the latter patted his back.

"We're cool."

"Yeah, no more fighting from now on."

"Good," Temari stated, though she doubted their promise. "Then I suppose the house is safe while I go get some groceries."

"Hai. Get more tomatoes, Temari. I want to make summer vegetable soup today," Seki answered. Temari nodded, ruffling the orange head and waved as she disappeared.

Seki turned back to Kankurou, who shrugged and slipped off his sandals after entering the sand siblings' home. Seki followed suit, and trailed after Kankurou as he walked up the stairs to his room. She didn't have to ask his permission, but Kankurou rolled his eyes anyway when she pushed past him to have a look at his bedroom.

The walls had numerous shelves, which displayed mechanical contraptions and small machinery parts like nuts and bolts that were weirdly shaped. A few toy puppets lay on his desk, as if they were models for his future creations. Another shelf above his desk showed an assortment of weapons that could be stored inside his puppets. Seki looked around in awe and sank onto his bed, her eyes catching a half made puppet at the corner.

_**He's a pretty hardworking boy, ain't he?**_

_Hardworking, yes. Pretty, no._

_**That's exactly what I would say about you.**_

_... Why do you torture me so?_

"That thing looks like a huge jar," Seki commented. Kankurou smirked and rested Karasu beside his bed.

"I'm planning it to be a trapping unit, like this," Seki turned towards his desk, where Kankurou demonstrated using a small puppet. It looked like a smaller jar, with numerous arms, and could open and close with Kankurou's chakra strings. Seki grinned and secretly blew some of her wind at it, so that it flew to the wall.

"Hey! Stop that, brat," Kankurou scolded, although even Seki could hear the teasing tone in it. She supported herself with her arms and swung her legs as she continued to examine the room. Just then, her left leg hit something with a soft 'thud'. Seki stopped swinging her legs and looked down, spotting a small shoebox hidden beneath the bed covers.

Making sure Kankurou was engrossed in his puppets, Seki reached down and brought it to her lap, turning to face the other side as she did so.

Seki opened the lid of the box and saw a wad of notes and photos, the top one catching her attention. It was a photograph of 4 people, and it looked crumpled and the edges were worn and tattered. A man was wearing the Kazekage robes and had spiky brown hair, similar to that of Kankurou's. The woman beside him had brown hair as well, with soft facial features and a kind expression. Seki cocked her head to one side as she realised the woman looked just like Yashamaru. The children in front of them, Seki presumed, were the younger versions of Temari and Kankurou. The girl had the same 4 spiky ponytails, while the boy had brown hair similar to his father's. Seki's eyes automatically went back to the woman, wondering about the similarity.

"HEY! Is that how you lose your friends?!"

Seki's snapped up to see a very pissed off Kankurou, who snatched the photo and the box away.

"Going through their private things without asking for permission?" Seki winced as the comment stung her like acid.

_**Busted and Hurt.**_

_You do know I have an irritation level._

_**You also know whacking your head in the middle of a conversation is very weird.**_

_... I hate you._

_**Love you, too.**_

"Gomen, it was too tempting, and I..."

"Nevermind."

Seki blinked a few times as Kankurou cut her off. He sat down beside her and raised the photo to eye level, eyes showing every single bit of hurt, anger and bitterness he felt over the years.

"I'm sorry for saying that."

Seki took a few seconds to realize he was referring to the 'no friends' comment and smiled. She watched his eyes glaze over and took a deep breath.

"Would, would you mind telling me?"

Kankurou turned to her slightly, hands lowering, crushing the photo.

"Why do you feel so bitter towards Gaara?"

-

Gaara walked through the door, pausing as he noticed a smaller pair of sandals beside Kankurou's pair. The same strange tugging of his heart came back and made him walk up the stairs towards Kankurou's room. The door was closed, but he heard muffled sounds from within.

-

Kankurou gripped the photo so hard his knuckles turned white, and Seki considered taking back her words.

"Kankurou, maybe..."

"This was when Gaara was concieved."

Seki shut up as Kankurou started.

"Even before he was born, he was a terror to my okaasan. She was to be sacrificed for him, and she hated it. I hated it. He was just a tool to the Kazekage, yet he wanted to do anything for Gaara. Gaara killed my okaasan. He caused us to lose our friends, caused several deaths of the villagers. He caused me to lose my status. I'm not a brother to him, nor a senior. I'm a pathetic weakling against him, and when the Kazekage decided to pin all his hopes on him, I felt so damn dejected and angry. How could he, when he wasn't even born yet, be so powerful he could kill our okaasan? Why should he take away everything we have?"

"Kankurou, Gaara is also..."

"Do you know the feeling of losing someone, something?"

Seki bit her tongue and looked down, shadow covering her face. Kankurou didn't notice and looked back at the photo.

"I lost my okaasan, my friends, my family. I don't know why Temari wants to understand him. To me, he is just a stupid brat I can't even defeat. And I don't think I will ever forgive him for this."

-

Gaara heard enough. He did a shunshin silently out of the house, the tugging in his heart, slowly becoming a dull ache.

Just like the ache he felt when Yashamaru died, because of him.

-

"Baka."

Seki said it so softly even she didn't hear it properly. Kankurou turned his head towards her.

"Nani?"

"You baka. Do you know WHY Temari wants to understand him, help him? Did you even ask?"

"..."

"You think he didn't lose anything? He already lost it before he had it! Just because he has the Shukaku, you think he _wanted_ to have that power? I bet you my life he would rather be as pathetic as you, than have the Shukaku's power!"

Kankurou blinked, shocked at Seki's outburst, and the contents of it. He suddenly felt pretty stupid, not really considering anything but his own feelings.

_But..._

Kankurou looked up, mouth set in a thin line.

"I can't just start talking to him like that."

Seki threw her hands in the air and sat on the bed. She knew it would be too perfect for Kankurou to just do as she said, but it didn't hurt to hope right?

Wrong.

Seki sighed and looked at Kankurou who looked at her.

"Promise me, you'll try."

"..."

"Please? If not now, at least, within this year."

Kankurou shifted uncomfortably, but glancing at Seki's serious expression, he didn't really want to ruin their current relationship over someone like Gaara. Letting out a deep breath, he smiled slightly.

"Okay, I promise."

Seki smiled and laughed slightly. Kankurou joined in, and after a few minutes of comfortable silence, they heard Temari from downstairs, and went down to help her with dinner.

The only person absent that night, was Gaara.

-

* * *

**A/N:** Once again, hope you enjoyed this one. Chapter 12 is already in progress, just a few touch ups here and there so that the information is not repeated.

**Daikamaitachi no jutsu **– Great Cutting Whirlwind Technique  
**Urusai **– Noisy (_Shut up_)  
**Shinigami** – Death God

**REVIEWS REALLY WELCOMED!** (helps me to write better, really!)

-JE


	12. Contentment and Confusion

**EDITED!**

**A/N: **HELLO PEOPLE!! Arg, project and homework can really kill us teenagers, you know? If it wasn't for all the reviews I would've posted this chapter next week. XD Thanks everyone who reviewed! I'm glad you're all enjoying it.

I tried to add a little fluff but haven't done so before, so its probably not even seen. Anyway, if it gets a little confusing don't worry, all will be revealed soon!

Now let's get on with chapter 12!

* * *

**Hurting**

Baki frowned slightly.

"I have to attend a meeting soon..."

"Then just agree already!"

"Temari, the exam needs only three..."

"We can treat her as a reserve!"

"Kankurou, there's no rule stating the need for..."

"That means there's no rule saying she _can't _go, right?" Temari quickly interjected. Their sensei stared at them closely, wondering why even Kankurou, would want the newcomer on their team.

_I wonder how Gaara would react?_

"Please, sensei! She is really good, she deserves a chance!"

"I'll have to discuss with the council..."

"Arigatou, sensei!" Baki reached out and grasped air as Temari and Kankurou disappeared before he could change his mind. Using the same hand to scratch the back of his neck, Baki turned back towards the Kazekage building.

_I suppose a reserve would be reasonable._

-

"Chuunin exam?"

Seki looked from Temari to Kankurou, before turning back to Temari.

"It isn't an individual exam? Like how we became Genins?"

"Iie, this exam will be held in Konohagakure this year, and every village is going to send some shinobis to see if they can become a Chuunin."

"So, I have to go there...?"

"Baka! Can you be any slower?" Kankurou interrupted. Seki glared at the purple faced boy, and the latter just glared back.

"We're _inviting _you to join our team! It's suppose to be a three man team but we'll find some way to get you to qualify."

"Yes, and even if we can't, there are some good shinobis in Suna. We can probably find two more to join you!"

Seki's red pupils lit up like rubies. "You mean, I'll be coming along with you? To become a Chuunin?" Temari smiled as she recognized the fire in Seki's eyes, and the determination to be a better person. Kankurou smirked slightly, "Of course, several of our village's Jounins are supposed to be watching out for the exceptional ones before they make the final decision. But I think the four of us – Gaara included – should be able to qualify without question," his blond sister nodded and placed her hands on the shorter girl.

"Now, you'll get a chance to be the shinobi you want to be."

Seki burst out in a wide grin and pulled Temari and Kankurou in a death-grip embrace, sand swirling around them as the wind from Seki circled them like a string. She finally let them go, panting for air. Seki blushed and rubbed her neck. "Gomenasai, I was too happy..."

"You're... You're going to pay for that, you little brat," Kankurou spat out in a good-natured, challenging kind of tone that made Seki smile. She nodded fiercely and assumed her attack stance, which looked like a Chinese Kung Fu style with her hands opened in front of her. Kankurou smirked and pulled the bandages off Karasu, letting it dangle over his shoulders as he tried to look intimidating to Seki. The younger kunoichi merely rolled her eyes and gestured with her hands.

"Bring it on, puppet boy. Bring it on!"

-

Gaara walked through the entrance gates into the quiet village. The sun was setting, and after a day of destroying large pillars of sand, Gaara felt the fatigue and headed back to the house to meditate. He strolled along the empty streets, the colours of the walls changing from orange to red as the fireball slowly made its descent behind the village walls.

"Alright then, Kankurou, Temari. Ja ne!" A familiar sound – or voice – strike a chord in Gaara's heart as he passed by the training forest. An orange haired girl appeared from around the corner, and without thinking, Gaara leaped up onto a tree branch. He watched Seki skip towards the direction of her home, until she realized that she was beside the training forest. Gaara raised an invisible eye brow as Seki paused at the entrance of the forest.

_Is she thinking..._ Gaara didn't even have to complete his thought when Seki dashed into the forest, stopping at the circular center she often trained at.

Closing her eyes, Seki embedded chakra into the air around her, willing it to accumulate under her feet and lift her into the air. She was exhausted after the friendly match between Kankurou, but a little extra training wouldn't hurt, right?

_**Don't hurt yourself now, Ki-chan.**_

_Wow, that's the first time you're encouraging me._

_**I told you to be careful, not to make it to the top.**_

_Hmpf! I'll show you..._

Childishly, Seki forced herself to raise higher and higher, even though she knew she was pushing beyond her limits. Gaara frowned as he observed from the side. He could see that she was tired, but why would she push herself so hard?

Seki reached out her hand, desperate now, to just touch a leaf of the canopy.

_20 cm... 10 cm..._

_5 cm... 3 cm..._

Gaara dropped to the forest floor and looked up, eyes widening as he realized the height Seki had risen.

_Chikushou! The forest trees grew the past few days!_

A sense of helplessness grew within Gaara, as did his desire to overcome that helplessness. He knew something was going to happen, but he couldn't stop it even if he wanted to. The feeling overwhelmed his senses as the sand beneath him swirled, uncertain of the sand master's wishes. What was this feeling?

_Is this, worry?_

Above, Seki was oblivious to his presence, concentrating only at the decreasing distance between her fingers and the leaves of the canopy.

_1cm..._

Her control over her wind snapped at that instant, fatigue washing over her as she plummeted towards the ground. Seki quickly formed a seal as her mind imagined the impact when she reached the ground...

_Seki opened her eyes a split second before she heard the impact. Her red pupils connected with Gaara's ocean ones, and for that split second, she felt safe..._

**BAM!**

Seki's wind shield and Gaara's sand shield collided and burst at the impact, throwing the two of them towards the shrubs and bushes. Since Gaara's sand had been ordered to protect Seki, it pulled Seki along and covered the two teenagers in sand, resulting in Seki only receiving minor scratches from the sand's rough surface.

When the dust had settled, Gaara opened his eyes to see Seki lying on top of him. The area around them was covered with leaves and twigs, as well as sand from Gaara's gourd, which had disintegrated to protect his back from slamming against the tree behind him. Gaara pushed himself further up so that Seki was now lying on his lap. She seemed so still, so silent, Gaara felt his pulse race...

"Ga-Gaara?" Gaara let go the breath he had no idea he was holding. He also realized Seki wasn't really lying on him – more like lying on a sheet of sand that prevented any contact between Gaara and Seki. This somehow made him feel disheartened.

Seki tried to push herself up, but collapsed as a sharp pain shot up her right wrist. Gaara's hand shot out to catch her, and even though he had his sand armor, Gaara felt heat creeping up his neck as the warmth of Seki's back rested on his lower arm. As he pulled her towards his chest, Seki looked up and blushed as she realized she was close enough to see the sand grains of Gaara's armor.

"Heh, this is like the time we met huh?"

"..."

Seki tried not to think about the situation they were in. Her right wrist probably fractured, leaning against Gaara's chest, who was supporting her as both of them lay against a tree and a pile of sand. She blushed slightly and raised her head, their eyes connecting and without thinking, Seki raised her hand and brushed her fingers against Gaara's cheek. The red head felt nothing, but underneath his armor he was starting to sweat.

_What... What is this feeling?_

"Arigatou, Gaara."

"..." Gaara shifted so that Seki could stand up without hurting her wrist, and as she turned to smile at him, a beautiful, breath taking smile, before leaving, he felt the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Just, slightly.

-

Seki skipped home happily, despite her throbbing wrist, her heart feeling full for some reason.

_**Yeah, SOME reason.**_

_Hmm hm hmmm hm hm..._

"Keimyou-san! I'm home!" Seki called out to the empty house as she kicked off her sandals and flopped onto the living room couch. Hearing no reply, Seki got up and walked towards the kitchen to drink some milk, when she noticed a note taped onto the table.

_Seki,_

_Don't wait up for me, gone on a mission to the Land of the Wind. I've left some food in the refrigerator for the next 2 days, so please prepare your own meals. Don't train too hard, there's a first aid kit on the kitchen counter._

_(I _know_ you'll need it.)_

_Love,_

_Keimyou_

"Keimyou-san is so thoughtful," Seki giggled at the last sentence, her laughter bouncing off the sandy walls. Her footsteps were soft as she went into the kitchen and started to bandage her wrist up properly. She headed to her bedroom after that, but paused outside Keimyou's room. She had only been in there a couple of times, and he didn't bar her off it, really.

"I wonder what dark secrets he has in there..."

_**There was that Icha Icha Paradise book you saw under his pillow...**_

_Oh, that! Haha, he sure was flustered._

Seki chuckled at the memory and walked in, unaware that this secret exploration was about to change the way she looked at life in a long time...

-

Gaara walked home slightly faster, not the slightest bit disturbed by the fact that someone had boldly yelled at him to get lost when he nearly banged into him (A clump of sand had sufficed in silencing him temporarily). He opened the door to the house he shared with his, now not as much, detested siblings and headed to his room upstairs, blatantly ignoring his sister's greetings and his brother's frown.

His heart was much too full to comprehend what was going on right now.

Sabaku no Gaara, the dangerous tool Sunagakure planned to use in times of need, a merciless killer and an emotionless, yet calm shinobi, was actually pacing up and down his room as his heart thumped furiously. His mind recollected the scene just 15 minutes ago.

The soft look from Seki's red eyes, the gentle touch from her hand, the warm weight of her small body that had rested on Gaara's lap. Everything about the teenager was making Gaara confused. He could not understand, could not even handle the feelings that now overwhelmed him.

How long since, had he felt accepted? How long since, had he felt safe? How long since, had he felt anything at all?

_Too long,_ Gaara gritted his teeth as he came up with an answer. He stopped suddenly and dropped to the ground cross legged, facing away from the door.

"What is it, Temari?"

Kankurou pushed Temari through the door which had been opened ajar, causing her to curse under her breath. Gaara's slight turn of his head made her stop and she sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Gaara, I... Erm, well..."

"..."

"Kankurou and I went to find Baki-sensei today. We asked if Seki could join our team for the Chuunin exams."

"...So?"

"Yo-You don't mind?" Temari, and Kankurou, blinked twice and stared at Gaara's back.

"I have no objections."

"ALRIGHT!" Temari yelled, a little too loud for Gaara and apologized profusely as he shot her his signature death glare. Kankurou quickly pulled his older sister out and the two closed the door, enveloping Gaara in silence once again. He heard their whispers, but suddenly, the irritation he felt for them was ebbing away.

_Maybe, I can do it now..._

_-_

Seki's hands started to shake as the book she was holding dropped to the ground with a soft 'thump'. Suddenly her mind was swirling, memories appearing and joining with each other until it became one single mix of colors and emotions. And then, one emotion stood out from the rest.

"Sabaku no Gaara..."

The light from the setting sun shone through Keimyou's bedroom window, flashing over a pair of red pupils as they turned magenta...

-

* * *

**A/N:** How is it? I hope it meets your expectations. Please review so I know how to do better! Also many thanks to the following reviewers because just a few words from you guys made me finish this within an hour!

**Hoshi Inuzuka  
RebirthFlame  
extremexunyi  
Miraki Azumi  
Hibiki-chan  
KaRiSa  
Dark Wolf Goddess of the Moon**

Sorry for not replying your reviews! I will once this chapter is over, and my pile of homework decreases! Once again though, thank you!!

-JE


	13. Interlude

**A/N:** AHH! Curse my forgetful mind. I didn't realize I had not posted up chapter 13 yet!

Its an extremely small chapter (_the shortest I've ever written! Kill me now!_), because I had a minor writer's block. Also, I've been extremely busy these past few weeks. School is so stressful it could probably kill me!

Anyway, the chapter below is just a little interlude, but please enjoy it all the same!

* * *

**Hurting**

Jounin Mission Log 86 – Assasination

I have been assigned to assasinate Sabaku no Gaara, son of the Fourth Kazekage and nephew of his late uncle, Yashamaru.

It was a rather difficult decision for me to make, contrary of what Keimyou had predicted. I did not accept it because I wanted to avenge Yashamaru's death. I admit it was the first thing that popped to my head, but I am a better person than that.

Gaara is a talented young boy, although he is poorly viewed by the villagers of Sunagakure. I think little Seki would be great friends with him. She would probably understand him the most, or maybe not. She has her mother, her father, me and Keimyou. Gaara has no one. I pity the young boy. He does not deserve such a fate, just like my little Seki.

I met Gaara one time when I followed Yashamaru to the Kazekage mansion. He was reluctant to come out, afraid I would have the same eyes as everyone. Those disgusting looks of hatred for something they do not understand, they pierce his soul so painfully, I can feel his pain as much as I feel little Seki's. When he finally does come out, I gave him a genuine smile. Seki and his reaction are identical, pure, innocent happiness. If only the village would see the side of Gaara that wants to be accepted in the world, and prove that he has what it takes to be a shonobi Sunagakure would be proud of and able to rely on.

Gaara is just a child, but he has seen more than the what most children see. He may become a genius shinobi, but he will never be able to defeat loneliness on his own. I will follow my mission orders accordingly, and die under his hands, hoping he will be saved.

This is my last entry in my mission log. After Yashamaru, I think Gaara would be expecting another attack. He would be most prepared, and I would give it my all as a sign of respect. I do not fight because I fear him. I fight because I believe he can defeat me.

My only regret, is that I would not be able to see little Seki one last time.

She is the only reason why I am able to understand Gaara.

-

_What's happening?_

_I'm, I'm losing it._

_No, no, not again!_

_I have to stop!_

_Relax, relax Seki._

_No, there's a reason._

_Gaara never intended to kill my father._

_No, he probably didn't._

_Someone else killed him!_

_Something else caused it, not Gaara!_

_No, not him. He didn't mean it.._

_No! He didn't!_

_**It doesn't matter, Seki. You can't stop me.**_

-

Gaara felt her aura even before he realized he did. He reached the training grounds the Kazekage had built specially for the Sand Siblings a few years ago, its high walls protected against destruction from chakra.

He didn't know why he knew she was coming for him. Call it paranoia, but he prepared himself all the same. At least he knew for sure this chakra he felt was not normal, not Seki's.

Ironically, he felt relieved that it was her insane mind that was looking for him, not her.

-

* * *

**A/N:** The next chapter will be up by this week, I promise!

-JE


	14. Alternate Persona

**A/N:** As promised, the next chapter! I had it beta read by my brother, and he thought it was okay. I'm crossing my fingers as I'm posting this up! (_Okay that's impossible to do, but I am trying!_)

There will be some explanations made, and more questions raised. I can answer some if you'd like, but not all otherwise it would ruin the story.

Once again, thank you very much for your constant reviews! It made me write faster, and so, enjoy this chapter! It's a rather kick ass one. XD

* * *

**Hurting**

_**Prey are animals attacked and eaten by other animals.**_

_**Gaara, is no animal.**_

_**But he is my Prey.**_

-

Gaara's eyes flicked open at the sound of the doors of the training grounds slamming. Seki stood before him, her disposition calm and collected. Had it not been her magenta eyes, Gaara would have thought that he was being paranoid for nothing. Said shinobi stood up from his meditating form, and unwillingly faced his opponent. Seki smiled, baring her fangs as well as her claws as she folded her arms.

"Sabaku no Gaara."

Gaara blinked, turquoise eyes reflecting the confusion he felt within. So far, he had not heard Seki speak in her insane state before. Not to mention, Seki's voice was a slightly higher pitch, and sounded even more menacing than Shukaku. Then again, Shukaku was a drunk idiot...

"Have you ever heard of Nibi no Nekomata?"

Seki's voice, no, her insane voice, made Gaara shiver inwardly. He frowned at her, allowing her to continue.

"The Nekomata is a two-tailed demon in a form of a cat, known to reanimate and control the dead as well as breathe fire. Dear Seki however, didn't manage to inherit these powers. She had her own, which was good enough for me. At least she had the one trait that would bring me out."

"...You? You're the..."

"Grudges. The Nekomata is well-known for holding grudges and having revenge until it was satisfied. Although Seki isn't powerful enough to have the power of bringing life to the dead, I'm sure she could try to send you to join your dear uncle."

"Wait! You're the Nekomata?"

Seki raised her hands in a thinking pose, scratching lightly against her chin. "Not exactly, after all, only a bit of my poison seeped into her brain. I wasn't put into her like the Shukaku was to you. However, she's been using quite a bit of my power recently. I'm pretty thankful for that, those long periods under the influence of my poison somehow formed an alternate ego of me."

"...How!?"

"I'm not sure of that myself. Maybe Seki could find out for me. We've become pretty close friends since she arrived at Sunagakure. Except she probably think of me as a harmless, little voice in her head."

The red-head wondered why he was becoming so angry as he realized the Nekomata's poison was using Seki. Making Seki do things she didn't want to do.

"I'm sure now, Seki would want to take revenge on the murderer who killed her precious father. She would hate him so..."

"NO!"

'Seki' dodged the ball of sand easily, chuckling at Gaara's expression.

"I can't control her for too long, you know. The amount of time I get to control her reflects on her stamina, as well as her want to be controlled," 'Seki' grinned evilly and positioned her palms above one another. Gaara watched as white halos formed in between them.

"Seki loved her father, more than anyone in the world. I wonder if she hates the person who took him away?"

"URUSAI!" Gaara yelled as he sent balls of sand to block the flying halos. He raised his arms and swung them towards the Nekomata in Seki's form, his sand following. The Nekomata responded by leaping away, her 'claws' protruding as she stuck onto the side of the wall. She grinned.

_**Let the fun begin.**_

-

Baki walked out of the meeting room, feeling insecure As he waved good bye to all the other council members, he froze when the Kazekage himself walked out. The most powerful shinobi in Sunagakure paused and turned his head towards Baki.

"Is anything the matter?"

"Iie," Baki stiffly replied, bowing respectfully before doing a shunshin out of the building. The Kazekage merely chuckled at the fading cloud of smoke where Baki was moments ago and continued on his way.

"Oh yes, _she_ is going to be very important for the future of Sunagakure."

Meanwhile, outside the mansion, Baki frowned slightly as he contemplated finding the Sand Siblings.

_I suppose they would want to hear the good news._

Although, the way the Kazekage said it seemed to be more bad, than good.

-

"_Kaze no Rensei Hari_!"

"_Sabaku Kyu_!"

'Seki' shot flying air needles that drilled into the air, slicing the sand through its air pockets into shreds. But sand cannot be sliced, and it joined back, gripping 'Seki' as it did. Gaara glared at the Nekomata, his blood boiling as he resisted the urge to hurt Seki. Once 'Seki' realized Gaara was hesitating, she laughed and swirled within the sand's grasp, disappearing into the air.

"My, oh my Gaara, how are you ever going to win if you let your emotions control you?"

Gaara spun on his heel and watched 'Seki' crawl along the wall. She flew and struck against Gaara's sand, speed increasing, rather than decreasing, with the passing minute. As 'Seki' swung her feet at Gaara's head, Nekomata's voice came out of her mouth, evil intentions of distracting Gaara dripping with every word, "Be like me, or Seki. She has completely no emotions to distract her now."

Heat rose up Gaara's neck as he willed his sand to fly towards 'Seki'. Laughter he once considered melodious was heard as 'Seki' disappeared and reappeared behind him. Aimlessly flinging his arms around, Gaara sent rivers of sand everywhere. He controlled not only his own sand, but the sand beneath him as well, and it was definitely harder to embed chakra into sand that was not his own.

_Why isn't she tired? Doesn't she embed chakra into the air?_

"Dear Seki doesn't waste any chakra when she embeds them into the air," Nekomata whispered dangerously close to his ear, Gaara turned as a wall of sand came up, blocking 'Seki' from approaching any closer.

"Only when she does jutsus like -"

Gaara followed her in doing a shunshin with their own elements, both of them arriving at either ends of the training grounds.

"- these," 'Seki' lowered her arms and placed them on her hips, staring at Gaara. The latter stared back, panting slightly. He narrowed his eyes, watching her body movements for any hint of fatigue. When he found none, the red head formed sand shurikens that were small than normal, and shot hundreds of them at her. 'Seki' grinned and embedded her chakra into the air, creating a wind shield that, instead of covering her body, formed a wall.

But air is everywhere, and 'Seki' could not control all of it. Several shurikens managed to get past the wind defense before it was completely formed, causing superficial wounds on her arms and legs. However, 'Seki' looked down upon them as if they were failures, rather than a small success on Gaara's part.

"For your advantage, however, I'd share a piece of information."

Gaara frowned suspiciously.

"Seki grows weak because her stamina isn't the optimal stage. She can't handle the chakra as it works for her."

"What do you mean?"

"Pretend our chakra is our... brains," 'Seki' pointed at her head, and Gaara raised one invisible eye brow. "Most people create more brains so that they can use them, so they become clever. Seki is stupid. She uses her own, but just using her own makes her weak. Hence, her brain isn't that clever yet, so she'll probably drop after a couple of hours."

_Its been nearly an hour._

"So, I guess I'll have to kill you within the last hour," 'Seki' finished, her mischievous grin returning, giving Gaara no time to prepare himself as she disappeared into the air.

-

"So she's accepted in our team!?"

"Sort of, Temari..."

"As a reserve? Will she be able to compete?"

"I'm not quite sure, but..."

"Do we need to scout for two members for her then?"

"Well, there are plenty of guards to accomp-"

"Are you sure she will no-"

"LISTEN UP!"

Temari shut up, while Kankurou chuckled from the side. Baki sighed and rubbed his forehead. As he sat down, Kankurou sat up and stared at his sensei.

"Baki, is there something you should tell us?"

Temari blinked, surprised at Kankurou's serious tone. She too, turned towards Baki and questioned him, "Is there something that was not allowed because of Seki?"

"No, it was what was allowed."

"What?"

"What?"

"Baki..." Temari started. Baki raised his hand to shush her.

"The Kazekage let Seki represent Sunagakure much too easily. No questions asked," Kankurou suddenly remembered the time he took the Raion documents to his father. But before he could open his mouth, Baki cut him by saying, "And I think, I know why."

"Why, Baki?" Temari asked, dead serious. Kankurou leaned in as Baki tried to find the appropriate words to explain. He sighed once more.

"There's no other way than putting it bluntly, I suppose."

-

_15 more minutes._

Gaara sent a pile of sand towards the kunoichi as she flung the last of her shurikens at him. His sand defenses blocked the weapons without fail, and Gaara managed to catch 'Seki' as she shunshin to his front, swinging her arm. Turquoise eyes widened as a sudden blow of sand connected with 'Seki". As she dropped to the ground, the Nekomata hissing furiously as sand crept up her legs and anchored her down. Before Gaara could get to her however, 'Seki' had formed several seals.

"_Kawarimi no Jutsu_!"

Cursing, Gaara released his sand's hold on the wind clone and his gaze swept the area, waiting for 'Seki' to reappear.

_10 more minutes._

Gaara whipped around as he heard the shuffle of feet, but frowned when he realized it was intentional. He scrutinized 'Seki', unknowingly comparing the person she was now, possessed somehow by the Nekomata, and the person she had always been. A malicious glint in her magenta eyes shook Gaara back to reality as her hands moved fluidly, shooting air needles from every angle possible. Although his sand defence blocked all of them in time, Gaara noticed that they disappeared almost at the instant they touched the sand defence, and they were smaller than usual.

"I guess spreading her chakra everywhere isn't a good idea. Makes the weapons weaker," 'Seki' mused. She clasped her hands together and let her index and middle fingers stick out.

"_Futon: Rensei __Taifuu_!"

At the familiar sight, Gaara poured his chakra into his sand, enclosing himself inside an orb of sand. As the sand slowly covered his view, Gaara could see the same thing he saw before: air spiraling around her fingers as it grew taller and bigger. It seemed to be much more massive and surpassed even the height of the fences that surrounded the training grounds. The red head saw so much before he was completely enclosed.

"_Daisan no Me_," Gaara whispered and placed his fingers over his right eye. Outside, a floating eyeball no bigger than a palm emerged, unnoticed by 'Seki'. Through his third eye, Gaara could see 'Seki' move the typhoon towards the ball of sand Gaara was protected in. Strangely, the typhoon seemed to have shrunk when 'Seki' moved it, but when it found its target, its strength grew tremendously. Gaara felt the impact on the sand as if the typhoon was striking him instead.

The Nekomata shrieked with laughter and embedded more of Seki's chakra into the typhoon, strength and size increasing until everything was getting sucked in. Fallen kunais and shurikens that she had used floated and zoomed straight towards the ball of sand, only to hit against it like a piece of plastic. The sand had hardened to the extent of it being as impenetrable as iron. Without air pockets.

Gaara watched the outside and felt the insides of the ball shake slightly at the pressure of the typhoon. He growled softly when he saw a tiny dent being formed on the ball and planned his next attack.

_5 more minutes._

As sudden as a gust of wind, the typhoon destroyed the ball of sand, throwing 'Seki' back towards the wall. She recovered and mid air however, and landed as gracefully as possible, all four limbs crouching as the combination of smoke and sand started to clear. 'Seki' coughed and spat, all the while keeping an eye on the pile of sand that had formed after the ball was crushed. Even under all that sand, the Nekomata could see there was no body.

"Leave Seki's body."

Gaara's cold, piercing tone would have scared the daylights out of anyone. But the Nekomata wasn't anyone and she smiled, even though Gaara could not see her. The kunai he used, pushed against her throat as she tried to chuckle, silencing her. He could sense the deteoriating presence of the Nekomata, but 'Seki' shook her head.

"I can never leave her, Gaara-kun."

Within a second, 'Seki' whipped round until she was just nose to nose with Gaara, her fangs shrinking to its original size. The Nekomata retracted the claws and let Seki's hand slide down Gaara's chest, leaning in as she whispered in the stoic boy's ear,

"I am part of her, forever."

-

The atmosphere was tense, but no one knew how to counter it. The deafening silence was only broken as Gaara arrived home. As if it were a warning bell, Gaara immediately noted the awkward aura around his siblings and his sensei.

"What's going on?"

"Gaara, about Seki-"

"I need you to help me take care of her for tomorrow. Her uncle won't be back until the day after," Gaara cut Temari. She blinked twice and then nodded curtly. She left after one last glance at Kankurou.

_Coward. She's scared of telling Gaara._

Kankurou broke out of his thoughts when his youngest sibling slid into the seat beside him. After a few moments of staring, Gaara turned to Baki, "What happened?"

Baki glanced at Kankurou, before replying, "Gaara, this is just a theory of mine, but..."

-

After Seki returned to normal, Gaara had sent her straight home. He carried her the entire way, as if afraid if he let go she would get hurt again.

He placed her body on the bed, night had fallen and the ever bright moon found its way into her bedroom. The light it shone revealed the little cuts and wounds Seki had attained when the Nekomata possessed her, and Gaara managed to treat most of them with the First Aid kit he found in the dining room, as well as the note by Keimyou.

As he placed back the kit, Gaara took a glance towards her room, where he could see her peaceful form lying on her bed. A sense of relief overwhelmed him, for a reason that he wasn't sure, or he would rather deny. After salvaging a piece of paper and a pen from Keimyou's room, he scribbled a message for Seki's uncle and left.

Missing a small black notebook that lay innocently under Keimyou's bed.

-

* * *

**A/N:** How is it? I have been itching to write a chapter with a lot of fighting. It seems much more interesting than my last few eh? Anyway, I don't think I'll be updating in a while. The holidays aren't meant to enjoy, with this much homework and activities! _Groans_. Anyhow, I will try to update before the end of this month. 

**Kawarimi no Jutsu** – Body Replacement Technique

My favorite animal is cats by the way. I found some pretty interesting information about the Nekomata, so I thought I'd share it here:

**Nibi no Nekomata** –  
Nekomata or Bakeneko; It was once believed that after a cat reached ten years of age, it would develop profound magical powers, typically exhibited by the tail splitting all the way down to form two tails. By gesturing with its tail, Nekomata can animate and control the dead to do their bidding. It is well-known for holding grudges, and must be appeased by attention, food, and respect. Very rarely, the Nekomata are also said to breathe fire. It can also change its shape into that of a human, and even devouring its own mistress in order to shapeshift and take her place.  
Although the two-tailed demon in Naruto series is depicted as a Nekomata, it doesn't seem to exhibit the same abilities as the legendary creature as it has fire-based abilities. However, this is an indirect reference to a Japanese belief that spirits of the dead manifested as airborne flames.

This information and plenty others have changed my ideas for the plot. I hope it will be better of course. Thanks again for all your reviews!

-JE


	15. Questions

**EDITED!**

**A/N:** OMG HELLO PEOPLE! I survived my examinations and the torturous study days before that!

I am so sorry for not updating. School is hell and I've just started using my computer again. I had to reread my whole story to make sure my next chapter flowed with the rest so please bear with me if there are any repetitions or mistakes. Also do NOT hesitate to point them out because I have been separated from the fanfiction world for too long!

Oh, and I've decided to stop using Japanese words as its really troublesome to do so. I also do not know when to use -san, -sama, -kun, -chan that well either, so I hope you don't mind the change!

And without more nonsense, here's chapter 15!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

The sky was tinged with auburn and purple, the big orange ball slowly descending behind the walls of Sunagakure and its light slowly painted the walls of a certain bedroom.

Keimyou dropped his things in his room, pinching the bridge of his nose as he thought over Gaara's note and Temari's reason of being here for the last two days. His mission had reaped more information than he had wanted. He wondered the coincidence behind this, but simply dismissed it as such. Kicking his sandals off his feet, Keimyou felt something beneath his foot and reached under his bed. He pulled out a black notebook, the very sight of it making Keimyou gasp.

_I should've brought it along!_ Keimyou thought angrily and flipped to page 86, the last mission log Seki's father had written and warned Keimyou to never show it to her. It seemed she had seen it anyway, and Keimyou's fear had been realized.

A small sound indicated that Temari had left Seki's room. Keimyou closed the notebook shut with a snap and walked out of the room, accidentally bumping into Temari on her way out.

"Oh! Sorry, Keimyou. I didn't see you..."

"Where's Gaara?"

"...Gaara? At home, wh-"

"Take me to him."

-

"Gaara!"

The three males turned to see Temari enter the house with Keimyou. Seki's uncle rose to his full height at the sight of Gaara's intense gaze and spoke with a clear voice, "Gaara, may I speak to you for a moment? In private?"

Gaara hesitated for a fraction of a second before walking up to his room, indicating that Keimyou follow with a nod of his head. Once in the room, Keimyou followed Gaara out through the window and on to the roof. As they sat down in silence, Keimyou wondered how often Gaara came up here, and whether the nights Seki were missing from her room, she was actually here.

"What is it?"

"Gaara, I need you to tell me in detail, everything Seki told you in her alternate persona. If you would like, I can shed some light on any queries you might have in exchange. I think you deserve to know this informaton as well, seeing as how Seki seems to know some things about you," Keimyou spoke in a rushed manner, his face pale but his maroon eyes gleaming brightly. Gaara could tell his emotions were running high and wild. He told everything as detailed as he could to Keimyou, while maintaining his stoic expression so as not to reveal his inner feelings during the fight.

Keimyou absorbed everything like a sponge, and seemed to understand something he knew now that Gaara had explained what happened during the fight.

"Keimyou."

Keimyou snapped his head back towards the redhead, taken aback by his politeness. Yet he could hear the tone of urgency and firmness within his voice. Keimyou set his mouth in a thin line and stared at the rooftops of the many houses in Sunagakure.

"Nibi no Nekomata has had more than one person develop an alternate persona of it after it had injected its poison into its victim. Usually, those victims either died on the spot or if they survived, went crazy and were killed by their own peers. Only one other person survived, was not killed and managed to develop an alternate persona of the Nekomata as a result of long periods under the poison's influence. That person lived in the Land of the Wind, near Sunagakure, and apparently, the Nekomata managed to easily slip into the Land of the Wind through his help."

"Is he still alive?"

"No, he was killed after the Nibi escaped . The Nekomata probably predicted his death, which was why it found its way into our clan and bit Seki when she was just born. Then it disappeared from this Land and was probably placed into another shinobi," Keimyou finished, remembering to avoid the word 'Jinchuuriki'. Gaara listened without changing his facial expression, and Keimyou smiled a little as he glanced at the young shinobi beside him.

"You know, Seki is much happier now than when she was in the Raion clan. Her family loved her, but never really understood her pain. So, I think having someone who understands you when you're all alone, gives a person much more happiness."

Gaara still didn't give any sign that he was even listening to Keimyou, but his heart started to beat faster. Keimyou smiled wider as he finished, "I think, that is love as well."

The redhead snapped his head to the side, seeing nothing but a trace of Keimyou's chakra just moments ago. He looked up to see him leaping over rooftops back home, pondering over Keimyou's last words.

-

Gaara entered back into the house as Baki walked towards the back room of the mansion. Mentally raising an eyebrow, he followed without a word, watching his siblings trail after their mentor. As they settled in the sound proof room, Baki heard the beginnings of a sand storm outside, closing the door to block out any disturbances.

"What is this about, Baki?" Temari demanded quickly, watching him with narrowed eyes as Baki walked to the front of the room. Gaara leaned against the wall impassive, although his heart hammered a little weirdly when Temari mentioned a certain brown haired kunoichi. "Is it about Seki? Are they going to use her?"

Baki shook his head, but was cut off before he could start by Kankurou, "What was the message the Kazekage gave you?" Gaara raised his head towards his brother, his turquoise eyes puzzled. Kankurou gave him a sideways glance while explaining what happened when Keimyou was talking to him.

"Baki received a message from the Kazekage. He insisted we had to talk without the risk of someone evesdropping."

"So your theory, it's nothing?" Gaara directed his gaze to Baki this time, making the sand Jounin feel slightly sheepish with embarrassment. Maybe he had gone too far and over reacted, assuming that Seki would be used during the Chuunin Examinations to be a tool for the attack in Konoha.

_Of course, she's much more unstable than Gaara_, Baki thought as he recollected himself. Seki after all, only had a brief exposure to her, _special_ powers. Gaara was much more experienced in that aspect, and that was the reason for the Kazekage's choice.

_But she will be used one day_.

"Only the three of you will be attending the Chuunin Examinations," Baki declared sternly.

"What? What did you say?" Temari stuttered. Before she could ask more about Seki, however, Baki stated firmly once more, "For this Chuunin Exam, the Village of Sand will make you three take it," the lone redhead in the room noticed Baki did not use the word 'only'.

"But it is not so you can become Chuunin. It is so you can take advantage of the Chuunin Exam and crush Konoha."

"Why?!" Temari exclaimed. Her brothers, although surprised, suppressed their urges to yell (or speak, in Gaara's case). "Aren't Konoha and the Sand allies?" Temari did not feel comforted by the grim smirk on Baki's face, and concluded instinctively that he was about to explain the information he had just received.

"The alliance treaty is the problem."

"What do you mean?" Kankurou cut in before Temari could ask for herself.

"You Genins do not know the details," Kankurou rolled his eyes at Baki's condescending tone. "But after the treaty was signed, the Country of Wind's idiotic feudal lord, he forced us, Sunagakure, to reduce our armaments. He became a client for Konoha, when he should have been giving missions to our village. Also, he greatly cut the budget for our village and greatly reduced the number of shinobi for the country as well."

All 3 sand siblings did not miss the hint of venom dripping over Baki's next words, "When the head is stupid, we, the arms and legs, have a hard time. To maintain our power, our village had to raise the quality of each individual shinobi," Baki paused to look over at Gaara, who predicted the next part but still felt slightly angered when he thought of it.

"That's why shinobis like you were created, Gaara," Baki stopped, holding said genin's cold stare before he continued.

"The security of the Country of Wind is very low right now. But the feudal lord and his attendants do not understand that!" Baki punched the wall behind him, the photo frame above him tilting to the side as a result. "The Kazekage sensed danger in Sunagakure's power decrease, so he has concluded that we need to cooperate with Otogakure and destroy Konoha."

"This will regain the Sand's dignity, and we will let the idiotic feudal lord understand the importance of crisis management for this country!" Slamming his fist on the wall once again, the tilted photo frame dropped to the ground at Baki's second punch.

Save for Gaara, Baki saw the looks of astonishment and hesitation, the latter most apparent in Temari. He walked forwards to emphasize the degree of importance, one which he himself had not realized until today.

"If we waste any more time, the Sand will lose power to battle Konoha. Now is the time."

Over looking the other two, Baki faced Gaara squarely, although the latter did not, and said in a low tone, "This mission, Gaara, it depends a lot on your performance."

_I'm sure you know why_, Baki watched his team's youngest genin stare ahead, fully aware that the monstrosity within him was already thirsty for the amount of blood to be spilled.

"Aa," Gaara assured Baki, his own voice low and dangerous. Satisfied, the Jounin faced all three of them together.

"Once the mission is executed, we will go to war with Konoha."

Temari's heart skipped a beat, face paling as her usual loud, boisterous voice came out in a whisper, "Another war?" She looked down at her feet, unfortunate memories resurfacing, memories only the eldest of the sand siblings would have.

"The alliance treaty was created after so many sacrifices, and now it's going to be voided. And a lot of people are going to die again."

"Hey, Temari!" Kankurou quickly cut her, sensing the danger in talking back to their mentor now. Thankfully, Baki merely stated, "This is all the Kazekage's will."

"The Kazekage?" Temari looked up, hatred filling her eyes. Baki frowned and stared down at her.

"Shinobis are tools of war. The alliance treaty only threatened our existence," her eyes steeled, Temari could not deny the fact that Baki was right. And she hated that.

"This is a Super-A class mission. Proceed with caution."

"Hai," Kankurou and Temari answered, the kunoichi's voice weak with suppressed sighs.

-

_Everything was covered in red._

_No one was moving._

_Her kimono and hands were stained._

_Fearful eyes darted around the area._

_She watched Enzeru reach out._

"_Okaasan..." She whispered, tears flowing._

_Enzeru stared at her with hatred in her eyes._

"_Houseki..._

_...Bakemono!"_

"MUM!" Seki woke up with a start, sweat rolling down her forehead and her neck, soaking her night clothes and making her feel sticky and warm. She glanced at the numerous bandages on her and ripped them off, kicking her blanket off the bed as she did so.

A cool breeze floated in through the window, lowering Seki's body temperature as she checked herself. All her wounds were fully healed, and her arms and legs were feeling sore fromlying in bed too long instead of after a fight.

_Wait, fight?_

Seki shook her, frowning as she tried to recall what happened, and why she was in bed covered with bandages. She heard a soft tinkling of cups from the kitchen, and assumed Keimyou must have been back from his mission. She racked her brains further, remembering images of a black notebook and flashes of sand. A high cackling laugh rang in her mind but she couldn't match a face with the voice.

_Maybe I'll ask Keimyou_, Seki thought wearily and got out of bed. She was halfway towards the door when she paused, sensing something amiss.

_What's going on?_ Seki glanced around the room as if the answer was somewhere there. She opened the door quickly and went towards the kitchen only to see Keimyou preparing a meal for the both of them.

"Keimyou, something's wrong with me."

"Seki! Oh, gosh are you alright?"

"I'm fine, uncle, but theres something wro-"

"Dear child, you've been out for a week, I was so worried..."

"A week!?" Seki exclaimed. _What did I do?_ Seki thought fervently, and that reminded her of her question. "Keimyou, my voice, my voice.."

"What, what is it? Your voice is fine."

"No, my voice, in my head. Its gone! And I think I heard it before I knocked out, before I..."

Seki's eyes widened as realization dawned to her. The sudden scenes of her father's last mission log, Gaara' face and the pummeling sand.

"..Uncle did I turn insane again? What happened to me, tell me what happened! Uncle!!"

"Seki, relax, calm down please!" Keimyou grabbed Seki's shoulders as she started screaming and crying hysterically. Her shrieks caught the attention of Temari, who was outside about to ring the doorbell. The blond kunoichi dashed in and kneeled down with Keimyou as the two of them tried to calm Seki down.

"Seki, Seki, listen, please, relax..."

"I went insane again! I went to kill Gaara! Temari I killed Gaara!"

"You didn't kill Gaara! Gaara's fine, he's at home, meditating!" The last word finally stopped Seki and she slumped on the ground. Temari quickly rushed behind her and supported the youg kunoichi as her tears continued to streak down her face.

"Uncle, what happened to me?"

-

Harsh winds were no surprise in the Land of the Wind, especially around Sunagakure. If anything, they were a blessing, for they provided the villagers a warning for the incoming sand storms.

As Gaara watched the villagers run inside to their houses, hoping for a sense of protection within their four walls, he allowed himself a small smirk and walked along the wall surrounding the village. Sandstorms were perfect for his training. He was intelligent, and knew that the ability to control the sand in a sandstorm would open up new skills he could develop in the future.

_Chuunin examinations_, Gaara thought, unknowingly excited as he stood beside the entrance gates and watched a large hurricane of sand grow closer towards the village.

_A chance to prove myself_.

The intensity of the sandstorm was evident by then, and he began to pour his chakra into the hurricane of sand. He had long ago perfected the skill of pouring his chakra into sand much further away from him, so the first hurdle had been overcome.

As the guards of the entrance gates closed the doors, and shunshin to their own homes, the red haired shinobi spread his legs apart and clapped his hands together. Then he stretched his own arms out and called out his own sand out of the gourd and cover himself. The danger of this training increased tremendously and Gaara was not willing to get hurt before the examinations.

His arms fully extended, Gaara willed his chakra to control the base of the hurricane, stabilizing its movement so that it would not shift closer. It took some time, but he finally did it. Slowly, he made his chakra spread towards the top, until he was in complete control of the hurricane. It took nearly half an hour, and by then, the winds were dying down.

Gaara released his hold on the sandstorm and sat down on the wall, watching the remains of the hurricane of sand be blown away by the evening winds.

Panting heavily, Gaara felt much more relaxed than an hour ago. His mind suddenly clear, he realized the real reason for endangering himself that was pushed to the back of his mind and replaced with the need to train.

Gaara didn't want to admit it, just as he denied the feeling of his heart beating, despite it making its presence known when Seki was around.

But in the growing silence, the teenager made his hand cover the left side of his chest.

-

Seki hugged her knees as Keimyou dug around his backpack. She stared out the window, and noticed the sandstorm from half an hour ago had died down. She squinted in the distance and notice a tiny figure on top of the walls surrounding the village. Before she could make out the colour of his hair, Seki felt Keimyou's hand on her shoulder and turned to face him.

"Seki. I want you to have this."

Seki looked down on Keimyou's other hand and noticed a small silver lighter. As she picked it up, she scrutinized the designs and intricate details of the lighter.

It was the same cat design as her left pant leg, except it was black against the silver background. Small jewels lined the edge of the cat and the silver background was carved with flowers and leaves. Seki flipped the lighter open and watched, entranced at the orange flame that burst out at the tip of the lighter.

"This fire, represents everything you are, Seki. Your appearance is like the outside of this lighter, complicated, beautiful. But your inside, the fire, is what makes you useful, makes you special, makes you, you. Keep that fire, and no matter what happens, you'll have no regrets."

Seki felt tears rolling down her cheeks again as Keimyou gave her a hug. She closed the lighter and sobbed softly into Keimyou's chest. Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the lighter, while her voice, although soft, was audible enough for Keimyou to hear.

"I just want to be a good person, uncle."

-

"Gaara."

Seki appeared beside him as Baki's words floated inside his mind. Gaara gave no indication he was aware of her presence, but did not shoft away as she sat down beside him.

"Seki."

"Yes?"

"How early did you start using your bloodline limit?"

Seki didn't answer, but pulled out her lighter, using her wind to hold the fire steady, and controlled some sand into the fire. Gaara blinked as he watched her struggle to control both elements properly, and reached out his sand to control the sand for her. Seki smiled warmly, thanking Gaara, unaware of the impact a small smile had on the redhead's breathing rate.

The two continued to melt and create glass in silence, until Seki decided to answer Gaara's question.

"I could use it since I was able to do jutsus.It seems just natural for me since young, but I know shinobis are supposed to take a long time before they can open their bloodline limit."

"...If you knew..."

"I couldn't do much about it, could I?" Seki gave Gaara a sad smile as they completed their first piece of glass. Gaara held it with his sand as Seki blew it cool with her wind.

"But Gaara, why are you asking me this?"

And the two fell into silence as the glass cat was dropped onto Seki's hand.

-

* * *

**A/N:** I wonder if the edited chapters are easier to understand?

**Otogakure** – The Village of Sound

-JE


	16. Chance

**EDITED!**

**A/N:** Hello again people. Sorry for being late. Been busy with organizing camps for my juniors and such. )

I've been wondering, no one really told me that the previous chapter was confusing so is it just my imagination or something? I did read through and understood most of it, but I wrote it so that's obvious. What about you guys? I tried to explain a lot in here. I hope you guys get it.

Oh and in case you're stuck in the shipuuden days? This is BEFORE chuunin examinations, alright? I'm moving a little faster now. On with the chapter!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

Keimyou poured the coffee he brewed into two cups, one for himself and the other for Seki, when she awoke for her training. He took the coffee towards the window that showed the rest of the village and the entrance gates. The sun, slowly rising was casting its light upon the other houses, making the sand look golden and shimmering under the light. Shadows were chased away as the warmth of the sunlight spread inside Keimyou's house.

The guardian of Seki sipped his coffee and turned, accidentally kicking away the can of permanant orange dye that Seki used before she left to find Gaara the day before. His eyes revealed the depth of confusion he felt right now, as many questions were left unanswered.

"Keimyou, Keimyou!"

Keimyou put down his coffee and reached for the door handle, wondering who was up so early. A swing of the door revealed a young waterfall shinobi, probably not older than twenty, holding a sealed scroll.

"Tomiro? What is it? What are doing all the way here?"

"A letter from your clan's elders, Keimyou. They said it was urgent," Keimyou accepted the scroll and moved to the side. "Come in Tomiro, come in."

"Thank you, Keimyou, but I need to rush, I'm on a mission."

"Right, but why are you here?"

"Your clan elders are in no condition to deliver a message, and I happened to go by your old house, which was along the way."

"I see, thank you, Tomiro."

"No problem, Keimyou. I haven't forgotten the debt I owe you for saving my life last year."

"Consider it repaid again," Keimyou smiled as Tomiro disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Memories of a past mission flooded Keimyou as he closed the door. The Land of the Waterfall was very peaceful, and he would have enjoyed traveling there for a vacation if he wasn't there to destroy a huge snake. It was the most peculiar mission as well, seeing as how the snake had vanished without a trace after his team and Keimyou had dealt the last blow.

Keimyou heard the sounds of Seki awaking and took the scroll to his bedroom. He remembered Tomiro, the young teenager he had saved from the snake. His family had been lost to that purple reptile so he traveled alongside Keimyou and his team to their next mission. Both parties had shared some information about themselves to the other, hence grew a friendship Keimyou never expected.

Tomiro did return to the Land of the Waterfall in the end, not before promising to repay the debt he owed Keimyou. However, it seemed everything he did for Keimyou was not worthy of repaying the debt. Keimyou thought about his last words to Tomiro and knew well enough that the young boy had not taken note of it again.

"Uncle? Is that coffee for me?"

"Yes, Seki. Drink it before you train!"

"Okay, thanks!" Keimyou poked his head out to wave goodbye to his niece, who had downed the coffee faster than he could say Goodbye.

Turning his attention, finally, towards the scroll, Keimyou frowned as he gazed upon the seal, which was a picture of a lion. It was the mark of the Raion clan, the symbol created by Iwashi and his father themselves. Keimyou muttered a soft, "Eiki," their clan's most sacred being, which was the command to unlock the seal.

Keimyou watched the scroll unfurl itself, as the contents were slowly absorbed by the shinobi. If anyone was present with him, they would've seen his maroon eyes widen with horror and glance around with worry, as if the people mentioned within the letter was right there in the room. If anyone had seen him, they would've seen Keimyou pacing the room in a nervous manner as he contemplated on revealing the information he had just received with his niece.

If anyone was with him, they would've watched him close the message with the seal and hide it inside a desk drawer, which he locked with another seal. They would've noticed his maroon eyes shining with determination, as Keimyou decided not to tell Seki about the message.

Yet.

-

Seki lay on her back, exhausted but happy. It was rare that Gaara would ask her out to train, and she wondered how long it took for him to gather the courage to do so.

As she looked over to the redhead staring at her, amused at her reaction towards fatigue, Seki knew the courage she spoke of was not the normal kind of courage. His courage, was more than similar to Seki's courage to make friends, to talk to people in this village. The kind of courage that was meant to protect your heart from rejection.

To be hurt, but to have the courage to stand up and try again.

"Come on, you're not even a little tired?" Seki whined as she sat up, noticing that Gaara wasn't even sweating. The male shinobi raised an invisible eyebrow, and looked away. Seki rolled her eyes and laid back down.

"You're not difficult to beat."

"What did you say!?" Seki shot up on her feet and stomped over to Gaara. He was not at all threatened, or angry. In fact, he was even more amused and let a smirk appear on his pale face. That's when Seki realized he was teasing her.

Seki was actually harder to beat now that she had improved her stamina level. But not the extent that Gaara would feel tired, of course.

"You managed to keep me awake I guess."

"Sabaku no Gaara, you idiot!" Seki fumed and tossed a few tornadoes towards him, which the redhead easily deflected with his sand. What he didn't expect was Seki to appear almost immediately behind him. Even with the sand defence, Gaara stumbled backwards with surprise. Seki grinned at this, and showed off her newly acquired speed as she tried to penetrate his sand with kunais and shurikens, kicks and punches.

After about fifteen minutes, Seki stopped, panting heavily and collapsed on a pile of sand. She giggled and tried to position herself more elegantly on the floating sand cloud that Gaara had conjured, before giving up and toppling backwards with an exaggerrated sigh.

And Gaara watched this, both amused and curious at her reactions.

Seki turned her head towards him and scrunched her face in a cute manner, before saying, "No one can get through that defense of yours, huh?"

Gaara was about to nod when his heart skipped a beat, reminding him of more meanings to her question than what she was expecting. Seki sat up straight at the change of his demeanor. She knew she wouldn't be able to touch him, but placed her hand on his shoulder anyway. Any kind of physical contact, a hug, a handshake, was comforting, and Gaara needed it more than anyone.

Seki felt the sandy texture and whispered cautiously, "Could you, take it off?"

Although Gaara knew perfectly well what she was referring to, he hesitated and turned to face Seki with questioning, ocean-blue eyes.

_Please, Gaara. I know how you feel._

And as if the redhead had heard her thoughts, Seki watched out of the corner of her eyes, sand sliding off Gaara's right hand, revealing pale complexion, as if it had never seen the sun for a few years.

Seki turned as Gaara took the initiative and raised his hand, just as Seki reached hers out.

-

"Gaara!"

Kankurou's voice pierced through the silence as he appeared through the forest. He reached the centre of the forest floor, where Gaara and Seki had been training, to find both of them sitting on sand, facing each other rather awkwardly. Well, at least Seki looked awkward. Gaara had on a stoic expression that revealed nothing to his older brother.

"Seki? I didn't know you were here."

"I came to train with Gaara," Seki replied calmly, although she looked away from Kankurou. The puppet master frowned, wondering why Temari had not told her about not taking part in the examinations, but didn't question her, and turned back to his younger brother.

"Baki wants to talk to you about training. He thinks you can draw out _its_ power easier if--"

"Kankurou."

Seki turned at Gaara's tone. It was low, deep and dangerous. Almost as if he wanted to hurt Kankurou. The latter didn't answer, but glared back as well. Ocean and dark eyes faced off in a staring competition as Seki looked from one shinobi to another.

_'It' meaning the ichibi? Why would he need his power?_ Seki looked over at Gaara, the murdering aura starting to radiate from him.

Hesitantly, Seki placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder, drawing his attention to her red eyes, questioning him silently. Gaara turned stiff under Seki's gaze, but did not draw away. He stood, willed his sand to help Seki up, and without a word, he left the forest clearing with shunshin to Baki's office, where his mentor was most likely waiting for him.

Kankurou stared at the space Gaara occupied and then at Seki, who smiled at him warmly.

"You hungry? I'm famished after training with Gaara. He could kill you, you know," Seki joked as she brushed the dirt off her. Kankurou chuckled and leaned on a tree as the young kunoichi picked up her weapons.

"Yeah, I know."

-

"If what you are saying is true, that would mean they could be here in less than a month."

"Unless I bring Seki away."

"But the Kazekage?"

"Obviously her life is more important! If I can get her out of Sunagakure, they would not be able to track her down so easily. This might save the village as well."

"She's not going to go quietly."

"She will understand."

"I cannot process your leaving papers without letting the Kazekage's consent. You may have to--"

Baki paused as he saw a whirl of sand appear in front of him and Keimyou. Seki's guardian straightened up and brushed his hair back, as the red head solidified within his shunshin and stared at the occupants of Baki's office. Keimyou smiled nervously and nodded as an acknowledgment, which Gaara returned. Baki stood up, a sign for Keimyou to leave.

"We'll talk about this later."

"No. I'll tell Kankurou to tell you when," Keimyou decided firmly, and shunshin our before Baki could say anything. Baki frowned and sighed heavily, before gesturing to Gaara to come closer.

"No."

Baki looked up, blinking at the unexpected answer.

"I won't use it unless I need to."

"Why?" Baki asked. He was surprised at Gaara's reluctance to use the Shukaku's power. "What are you thinking, Gaara?" Baki frowned under his half mask when he met the redhead's silence.

"Why did you assume Seki was going to be used?" Gaara asked, suspicious of Keimyou's presence earlier.

"The council knows more things about the clan than we do, Gaara," Baki replied definitively. Gaara held his mentor's gaze for a while, prompting him to explain what he meant. Baki frown creased deeper and he sat down, crossing his fingers in front of him.

"The Raion clan was one of the few clans that left Sunagakure and still served the Kazekage. Their shinobis have been used for Assassinations as they were better than anyone at concealing and killing," Gaara's mind echoed the Nibi's voice when she was in Seki's body, recalling what she said about him killing Seki's father.

"Only Iwashi and Keimyou rejected such missions. They have served Sunagakure for so long it is only natural for them to take note of Seki Raion. Kunoichis of their clan are not exceptional or abundant, but Seki is, what with the Nibi's poison as well as her genes."

"You'll help her," it wasn't a question, a statement from Gaara that caught Baki unawares, although he was as good as him at keeping stoic expressions. He glanced around furtively, before giving him a tiny nod.

"She is part of Sunagakure."

Gaara, satisified with the answer, walked out of the office, closing the door behind him with a snap.

-

"Bye, Kankurou!"

Seki waved as her shinobi friend disappeared around the corner, and stepped into Keimyou's home, removing her sandals as she called out to her uncle. It was only after placing her things in her room did she notice the lack of response. Walking out towards his room, Seki found her uncle holding on to the black journal and sitting on his bed. His maroon eyes seemed hazy, as if he was in a daze.

"Keimyou? Uncle? Uncle!"

"..Huh.. What? Oh, Seki its you."

"Uncle, what's wrong?" Seki sat beside her guardian, covering his hand with hers.

Keimyou looked up and smiled into her red ruby eyes, placing his arm around her shoulder and pulling her towards him. Seki leaned on his chest and closed her eyes, smiling as she absorbed the warmth of Keimyou's body.

"Uncle? Are you alright?" Keimyou's eyes flickered, but Seki didn't notice as she relaxed into her uncle's arms. He rubbed the top of her head, kissed it softly and pulled back so that he could see Seki clearly.

Seki cocked her head to the side curiously, laughing a little as Keimyou took in Seki's appearance. Her cropped brown hair was longer now, allowing Seki to tie into a small ponytail whenever she trained so that it wouldn't hinder her movements. The orange dye had probably sunk into her roots, so orange highlights were seen even though Seki had used up all of her orange dye. She had grown slightly taller, and was not skinny as when she first arrived, starved and weak. Her bright red eyes from her father, shimmered under the glow of the setting sun. Her facial features from her mother, gentle and loving.

"Uncle?"

"Seki. Do you trust me, that everything I do, I do it to protect you?" Keimyou asked suddenly, catching Seki by surprise.

"Of co-course, uncle. Why? What's wrong? Did anything happen?"

"No. No, nothing. Not yet anyway," Keimyou finished mysteriously. Seki looked carefully at her uncle, concerned. There were some white hairs slowly appearing on the tips of several strands of hair.

_Uncle is probably stressed out with me causing so much trouble_, Seki thought sadly. Keimyou noticed her change in demeanor and smiled.

"Come on, don't look so glum. Let's have some pie for dinner!"

"Eh, really?" Seki exclaimed. Keimyou chuckled and headed towards the kitchen, letting Seki daydream about the shepherd's pie they ate the week before.

When Keimyou called out for Seki however, he only found an open window and a small note from her. Smiling sadly, Keimyou wrapped the pie and placed it in the fridge, so that Seki could heat it up and eat it when she got back.

-

The cold air that would have made anyone shiver uncontrollably, especially in Sunagakure where temperatures in the day soar, and temperatures in the night dropped so low a normal person needed to wear a jacket to sleep. However, people who lived in the Land of the Wind were used to these varying temperatures.

Shinobis such as Gaara and Seki were not only used to it, they needed the refreshing feeling to clear their minds of confusing thoughts and feelings that overwhelmed them in the day.

For Seki, as she sat on the roof of some restaurant in the village, she thought about her life so far. Killing her family members, being exiled from her clan, arriving in Sungakure, meeting the Sand Siblings, training for the Chuunin Examinations. It all seemed like a distant memory, yet it was her life, the one she was living right now. And Seki thought again, how long ago since she had actually lived properly. Those years of traveling, getting lost, mugged, thrown out and shunned, it seemed like she was there experiencing it, but not feeling anything. Her heart had been so cold, frozen over and unable to stop the numbness, Seki continued to hurt until she finally found Keimyou. Found Gaara.

Her insanity periods were more dangerous now, but Seki knew she was able to control her emotions better after the last attack. She thought about what Keimyou told her about the Nibi, and the connection with the voice in her head. Chuckling, Seki reflected on her naïve personality just a few weeks before and took out her lighter, flicking the flame on and off.

_Now there are two Houseki Raion, and one of them is a cat_, Seki thought lightly. She looked down on the orange cat design on the pant leg of the bottom she always wore. Was it coincidence that she packed only this pair of pants when she left? It was a gift from her mother, and her father always told her that her personality was just like a cat. Curious, playful, sly, intelligent. Now she realized she had a cat in her all along, albeit an alternate persona.

How were things going to be played out? Seki wondered, but didn't bother to persue her queries as she looked beyond the city walls. She thought about Gaara, her feelings for him and the memories they shared. Shutting the lighter, Seki crouched and looked around for another roof to leap on, as she began her night adventure again.

_I wonder what he thinks of me, now that I've attempted to kill him more than once_.

-

Gaara watched the orange spot light up and fade away into the darkness, heart beating slowly as he realized Seki was only a few rooftops away from him.

He refused to believe in love, no, it was too soon for him. However, he was willing to consider friendship. She had done nothing to betray his trust so far, and knew she probably would not. There were things they could relate to each other that no one else in their lives would understand.

Seki was a danger, just as Gaara is, just that he has learned since his childhood – if he had one – how to control his emotions much better than Seki. It resulted in this, cold, alone, talented but loveless.

And hurting.

Did he want to accept her? He was afraid of nothing now, so rejection was not a concern. However, the same feeling of helplessness overwhelmed him as Gaara pondered over his future with Seki. What was it called? Worry.

The orange spot disappeared from view and Gaara saw the familiar figure leap away from the rooftop towards the city walls.

A few seconds later and the place Gaara was sitting on, was empty as well.

-

* * *

**A/N:** Edited and removed Orochimaru. He's coming out in 17. Sorry for the confusion, but I prefer to stay on the storyline. Thank god I am rewatching Naruto.

**Tomiro** - Fortunate child

-JE


	17. Leaving

**A/N:** Oh god I'm sick of all that talking. Time to move on.

I've been rewatching Naruto and I came upon episode 57, where the real reasons behind the attack on Konoha was brought to light to me. And I realized: I"M SO WRONG! So after a few editions, I reuploaded chapter 12, 15 and 16. They only got some minor changes, only the parts about the kazekage plot.

Oh yes, and I was a little OOC for Baki because I was basing my opinion of him from shipuuden, so it wasnt as accurate.

Yeah other than that, here's 17!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

"_Leave us."_

_Orochimaru continued to stay as he was, smiling at the Kazekage's curtains that surrounded the person himself. The council members hurried out of the dark room, the auras of the two men inside strong and clashing, and disturbing them quite heavily. As soon as the last one, Baki, coincidentally, had closed the door, a scrawny young man with glasses came out from the shadows and placed a seal above the door handles._

"Ninpou: Fugen no Jutsu_," Kabuto quietly muttered, fingers forming a one hand seal of the Sheep as Orochimaru and the Kazekage began their soft discussion for the planned attack on Konoha during the Chuunin Examinations._

"_Now, I want details about your plan."_

"_Patience, Kazekage. I need to have your trust before I can proceed," Orochimaru said slowly, eyes narrowing with a smile that was almost as sincere as his heart. The Kazekage, although cloaked, smirked beneath the layers of cloth and drew the curtains._

"_As. Do. I."_

-

Keimyou gripped the message he had just received by a falcon from the East, from an informer he had paid in the last mission he went on. His knuckles turned white even as his maroon eyes stayed clam. His disposition was of a relaxed one, and if no one noticed his hands, they would never have guessed that he was shaking within.

"Keimyou? I'm back! Is dinner ready--"

"Seki. Come here," His voice was firm, not loud, but stern enough to grab Seki's attention. The only time she had ever heard him use that voice was when the clan elders were refusing Keimyou's plans to move to Sunagakure. Seki crept into Keimyou's bedroom, watching as her uncle stared blankly at the wall as he did a few nights ago. Taking note of his white knuckles, Seki slid beside Keimyou as slowly as possible.

"Uncle?"

"Seki, do you still trust what I said? That everything I do, I do it to protect you?"

"Of course, uncle," Seki replied gently. She had no idea where this conversation was headed, but braced herself for it anyway.

"Seki," Keimyou turned to face his niece, taking in every inch of her messy brown and orange hair, reaching her shoulders and her slightly thin built. Her bright red eyes that contrasted against her fair complexion, muddy pants and dirty shirt. Her optimistic smile that hid the hurt she remembered and still received.

_I could take that away_, Keimyou thought sadly. He cupped his hand around her face, using his thumb to trace her smooth eyebrows.

"Seki, we have to leave Sunagakure."

"Wha-What?" Seki stuttered, flabberghasted. Keimyou dropped his hand to her shoulder, his eyes staring back hers intently.

"There is a group of men after the poison in your brain. However, your poison has already spread to most part of your body so any method of removal would be fatal to you. Not only that, these men will do no good with that poison, and so we must prevent you from ending up in their clutches," as soon as Keimyou finished, he fished a large duffel bag from below his bed and zipped it open.

Seki stood up, shocked at this unexpected development as she watched Keimyou throw in several of his shinobi items and some clothes. He turned to see the brown hair genin still frozen in place. Maroon eyes turning soft, Keimyou held both her shoulders this time and knelt so as to be on the same eye level as her.

"Seki. You have to pack now. We'll leave tomorrow morning."

"Tomo-morrow?! Where? Why? Uncle, who are these men?!" Seki's head turned in all directions, as if the answer was somewhere inside Keimyou's room. Her mind, blank at first, now felt as if the floodgates of information had burst open and was filling her head with things she did not understand. As Seki tried to wring her hair, her fingers brushed her cheeks and Seki choked out a gasp as she examined her left hand.

She was crying.

"Seki. Seki, Seki!" Said kunoichi's attention diverted back to the man in front of her. His facial features contorted in worry as he thought about how to deal with his niece. He knew it was irrational to just expect her to drop everything and follow his instructions, but his informer had already reported that they were only a few days away from Sunagakure. It was best to get a head start.

"Seki, I'm sorry. I wish I can explain this to you now, but we have no time. We're going to Takigakure, it'll be safer there. I have someone who will hide us."

"But, uncle, why? I'm attending the Chuunin Examinations in about a week! I've been training so hard to do it right. Uncle, I can't just leave, especially without telling Temari and Kankurou and... and... Keimyou, LOOK AT ME!" Seki exclaimed loudly, catching back Keimyou's attention, who had tried to find a few more clothes to place inside the duffel bag.

"Why, uncle?" Seki asked again, softer this time and titled her head to the side. Keimyou placed his hand on her cheek, caressing it as she let her tears flow into his palm. Seki's choking sobs made Keimyou's heart wrench, as it brought back memories of when Seki was a mere child, and often sobbed like this when innocent rumours and gossip travelled around the clan about her abilities.

"Seki. You're being hunted by some bad shinobis. They won't spare your life to get that poison. I'll answer all your questions when we get to Takigakure, alright?" Seki hesitated for a few seconds, before she nodded, heaving in a deep breath in order to calm her nerves. When that didn't work, she forced air to enter her lungs to stop her sobbing, and dashed over to her room to collect her things.

_Whatever is happening, I know Keimyou knows what he is doing_, Seki thought, trying to comfort her own hammering feelings as she hurriedly stuffed the little clothing she wanted into her black sling bag. She could hear someone knocking on the door, but ignored it as Keimyou rushed to answer it instead.

Seki could hear Baki's voice bouncing of the walls of the house, but before she could be any more curious, she picked up her empty can of hair dye from the bedside table and saw the glass cat hiding behind it.

_Learn to use your power to protect yourself._

Putting back down the can, Seki raised her trembling fingers to stroke the glass cat's sleek back and briefly remembered the day she learnt of her alternate persona. The cool transparent glass was icy against her flushed skin, and so delicate.

"Seki?"

Keimyou's voice cut through Seki's thoughts, startling her. She could only glance back down as the glass cat was pushed off the bedside table and fell to the hard, concrete ground. The size of the cat was so small, the shattering of the glass was barely audible.

But Seki heard the crash. Somewhere deep inside the left side of her chest.

-

"_But Gaara, why are you asking me this?"_

_The two genins fell into silence as the glass cat was dropped into Seki's hand. The latter closed her fingers around it, feeling the cool, smooth texture as compared to the warm, grainy sand she felt everywhere. Gaara seemed to avoid the question intentionally, so Seki didn't press him for the answer. He had another question though._

"_Why are you able to smile like that?"_

_Seki blinked, turning to face Gaara with a puzzled smile._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_After, everything you've done. Experienced."_

_Seki's smile turned sad, and Gaara half wanted to take back his words, and restore the warm curve she loved to wear. Instead, though, he waited for her answer._

"_I've... done a lot of things I regret, things I can't change. But I really want to change. The things I can change, the way I live, the way I see things, I'll change them. And... I won't take back my smile," as if to prove herself right, Seki grinned playfully at Gaara. He turned to face the desert, but continued to listen as her voice grew softer._

"_I'll change. And become the shinobi I want to be."_

_Gaara took a sideways glance at the girl beside him, and studied her profile as she admired the view of the rolling sand under the sun._

"_Seki."_

_Said kunoichi's head snapped back, causing her neck to crack slightly. She rubbed it, her attention still with Gaara since he hardly called her by her name._

"_Protect yourself. Learn to use your power to protect yourself," Gaara muttered after a moment's hesitation. Seki blinked a couple of times, before a wide smile appeared like a rising sun at dawn._

"_Mm!" Seki nodded, happily laughing after that, the sound of it carried off by the winds of Sunagakure._

-

Kankurou and Temari shifted uncomfortably at the same time as the tension in the silence grew. Both genins each took a separate glance up at their youngest sibling's bedroom.

There was nothing weird about his absence. But of the late, Gaara had the habit of at least coming down for breakfast before telling them to leave him alone. Kankurou would scoff, while Temari would have smiled weakly to appease him as the redhead glared daggers at his older brother before swiftly departing for his bedroom once more.

The fact that Gaara had skipped breakfast completely was unnerving. If it were any other shinobi most people would have deduced that the latter had overslept or just refused to leave his room. But Gaara wasn't any other shinobi.

_I wonder if he died up there. Impossible, but you can starve to death_, Kankurou thought humourlessly. He started to poke Karasu harder than necessary, wondering why he was so frustrated about the person he despised most in the world.

_Did he leave? I wonder what's he thinking? Should I check?_ Temari frowned as thoughts raced in her brain while she stitched the hole in her fan. A chuckle burst out unexpectedly as she recalled the reason behind the hole.

Kankurou looked up at the sudden noise. "What?"

"Nothing," Temari assured, smiling anyway as Seki's face appeared in her mental screen, as well as those deft hands that, having trained for so long, managed to flick shurikens fast enough to pierce a hole in her fan._Maybe I should just make the whole thing out of steel_, Temari thought casually, knowing she would be able to handle the weight. Her heart drooped slightly at that thought, remembering how she agreed to train with her young friend even though she knew Seki would not be taking part in the exams.

"Where is Gaara?" Kankurou, unable to bear his inner demons stabbing him with their mini tridents like the ones devils would carry.

The blond shrugged, put down her fan and started to retie one of the four ponytails on her head.

"Don't know."

"You don't care?"

"And you do?"

"No," Kankurou retorted stiffly. Temari rolled her eyes, but he ignored her and put on his cat-eared head dress.

"Just thought you would."

"Well, I'm not."

"Fine."

"Fine."

Deafening silence took on new meaning as the two just stared at each other. Only when the door slammed open did they snap out of their reverie.

And speak of the devil.

"Where did she go?" Gaara demanded, venom dripping with every word he spoke aloud. Temari blinked at his sudden appearance while Kankurou narrowed his eyes, glaring at the sand that was slowly creeping into the house.

"Where did she go?" Temari shuddered inwardly as Gaara's voice dropped a notch and was now at a dangerous level of lashing out at one of them. Since she_really_ had no idea what Gaara was talking about, Temari felt it was safe to play dumb.

"Who?"

Before Gaara could unnecessarily strangle her with his sand, Baki appeared in a cloud of smoke beside him, wanting to place a hand on his shoulder to restrain the young genin, but was stopped by a streak of golden sand. Gaara's piercing ocean eyes turned towards his team mentor, silently asking for an explanation. Baki knew the tone of his glare and cleared his throat.

"Seki left with Keimyou yesterday."

"What?"

"What?"

"Why?" Gaara's voice, softer than his older team mates, but much more menacing, would have struck fear in the hearts of normal people, except the one of his mentor, who had heard it more often than needed.

"Keimyou is taking her to train in another country. He said it was too dangerous for her to be here."

"But why?! Who would be so dangerous that Sunagakure's guards and shinobis can't take out?" Temari exclaimed, shocked, but also confused by her young kunoichi friend's sudden departure. "She didn't even say anything to me. I trained with her the day before yesterday!"

"It was an impromptu decision. She wanted to leave a note for you all, but Keimyou insisted they leave immediately."

"Wait, you were there?" Kankurou asked, anger weaving through his words. Baki hesitated but nodded just as Gaara's sand smashed the coffee table in front of all of them. Temari yelped in surprise, Kankurou cursed under his breath, but Baki merely stared at his problematic genin as he watched Gaara hide his fuming under his sand armour. Said shinobi disappeared in a whirl of sand, and in the next few minutes, all Temari, Kankurou and Baki could hear was the non-stop crashing and breaking of several items inside Gaara's room.

When the atmosphere was quiet, it was only because Gaara had left to find other things to destroy.

Crush. Break. Shatter.

Even if no one could see beyond his stoic expression and cold gaze, there was no doubt Gaara was hurting inside.

But to what degree, even he did not know.

-

_Orochimaru raised a skeptical eyebrow, still smiling insincerely._

"_Next week?"_

"_Do not underestimate my prowess, Orochimaru."_

_Orochimaru chuckled coldly, otherwise showing no indication of his admiration for the Kazekage's influence in pushing the dates of the Chuunin Examinations forward. The latter sat back and observed his two visitors for a moment, before he nodded slightly towards Orochimaru's left hand. A ring on his little finger stood out in the darkness, the word__空__' barely visible under is overlapped fingers_

"_A family heirloom?"_

"_More like a treasure," Orochimaru drawled, tone almost hissing like a snake. He gave a sideways glance to Kabuto and changed the subject._

"_Now, about those weapons you were saying. Are they going to listen to what you request?"_

"_Weapon," the Kazekage corrected. "I can guarantee only one of them. The other is not as reliable."_

"_I see. And which one is stronger?"_

"_The unreliable one has potential, but currently is a weakling that will only burden our plans."_

"_Well, there should be no problems, I presume. I would like to see you again. Kabuto will inform you of the date and venue."_

"_Of course."_

"_Alone," Orochimaru need not emphasize his words for them to take an effect. The low volume of his condition made the Kazekage's eyes narrow, although this went unnoticed by the former._

_As if on cue, his two visitors stood up as gracefully as they could, Kabuto bowing slightly before they headed for the door. As his hand rested on the door knob, Orochimaru asked one final question,_

"_Kazekage, would your people miss you if you... left? "_

_The Kazekage looked up at the unexpected question, but saw nothing that aroused his suspicion. However, the tone that was hiding behind Orochimaru's nonchalent voice made the Kazekage raise an eyebrow. He smirked smugly, confidence shining through his eyes._

"_Probably not."_

"_Excellent," Orochimaru grinned evilly and left the room without a backward glance._

-

* * *

**A/N:** In case you're wondering about the last paragraph, I sort of created that to make it seem like Orochimaru was already prepared to kill the Kazekage.

Well, I'm a little busy for the next few weeks so don't expect an update too soon. If there are any mistakes please let me know. I am currently rewatching the Naruto series to confirm my information, but I'm not perfect.

In advance: Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

**Ninpou: Fugen no Justu** – Silence Jutsu**  
Takigakure** - Land of Waterfall  
**空** – Void

Until the next update!

-JE


	18. Where is your heart?

**A/N:** Hi hi hi! Sorry for the late update, but I have been busy doing school stuff, extra activities and all thatthings school make us do. I'm so sad that Gaara is no longer in the picture for the anime. Hopefully, people still read my fic. Haha.

And yes, if you guys did notice, I'm posting this in dedication for Gaara's birthday today! Yay! Happy birthday Gaara! Even though this chapter is a little ironic because its especially heartbreaking for him and Seki. I hope you will read it, and maybe review if it made you feel their pain too. That was my goal, XD

Okay, on with chapter 18!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

Seki had been hurting for a while now, so she had no idea why she felt so much worse.

It took a whole day before she felt the effects of leaving Sunagakure no Sato, a place she had already unconsciously regarded as her home. Her heart would wrench in different shapes, and she could feel the muscle twisting, even though it was still pumping blood and oxygen to her vital organs. It was amazing how much pain she could feel from such a small part of her body. Seki would grip her chest so tightly her uncle would pry her fingers away, for fear that she would actually injure herself. And after a few minutes, Seki's hand would automatically fly back to that throbbing left part of her chest, trying to ease the painful feeling inside.

Her tears would flow non-stop as well, like floodgates opened and broken in the process. There was nothing to stop her eyes from welling with salty water, and she hardly bothered to open her eyes for she could see nothing but blur mist anyway.

Her uncle was kind enough to rent an old carriage, even though it slowed down their journey, in order to let Seki rest. He doubted that she could walk on her own and requested a few people to come and fetch them en route to Takigakure no Sato.

One of them was a young teenager named Tomiro, older than Seki . The first time she saw him, he asked her if she needed a handkerchief to wipe her tears. At that time, the brown haired girl had no idea she was still crying. An uncontrollable sob escaped her lips and many followed after that, rendering her speechless. Tomiro apologized, but did not hear her voice until several weeks later, for after she reached Takigakure, she neither ate nor drank, let alone relieve herself. Seki locked herself inside a room and refused to leave it.

Keimyou was kind enough to bring her things into her room, but realized it was a mistake to leave her souvenirs that reminded her exactly what she had left behind. He was not sure what had really provoked her to insanity, but after she had exhausted all the stamina she had left, Keimyou surveyed the destroyed wooden furniture and found tiny shards of glass not easily found in Takigakure in between some of them.

This went on for quite some time: Seki would keep to herself, not speaking to anyone at all, and at random moments, unleash the monstrosity within her until her surroundings were thoroughly and fully destroyed. This caused a lot of tension within the village, so much so Tomiro had to specially build a house for them deep inside the forest behind Takigakure. Since they were still in the vicinity, many villagers were wary of Seki, although they hardly saw her in broad day light. Tomiro managed to get them some sort of protection as well, at least Keimyou knew that no one would find Seki easily when Takigakure itself was hidden from others.

Seki grew thin and frail, limbs hardly any muscle. Yet when she was found in her periods of insanity, her strength and skills had not deteoriated in the least. And her anger was never appeased, only returning to her normal form after her stamina was used and gone.

As Keimyou carried his niece back into the house, from the cave he found her in, a piece of his own heart broke off at the sight of her lifeless figure. He knew when she opened her eyes, this would not change either. Her red eyes no longer twinkled with delight, and even her magenta eyes were blank, filled only with an intent to kill. Everything about her seemed to be fading away

At the back of his mind, the worried guardian wondered whether a certain redhead fared any better back at Sunagakure.

-

"No, no, please, I won't do it again!"

"You don't belong in this world."

"No, have mercy, I beg of you!"

"Die, filthy human," Gaara's voice stated, his tone low and deadly as his sand crushed his eleventh victim for the week. Only the blood staining the sand could be seen under the moonlight, and Gaara kept his stoic expression as the sand filled back into his gourd.

"Midori..." The redhead's head turned slowly to the side to see a crying brunette kneeling not far from the place Gaara had killed the thief. Even if he wasn't stealing something, the youngest of the Sand Siblings knew everyone would hate him for killing another villager. It was coincidence, but every thief, every person good or bad, had someone. Gaara looked at the woman's eyes, which was filled with sadness. It was strange, for once she wasn't looking at him and directing her anger at him. She was merely upset at the death of her precious person.

As soon as the thought came through his head, a rain of voices pummeled into his brain. Gaara gripped his head hard, and shunshin as far away from the village as he could. Once there, he destroyed huge columns of sand in order to vent his sudden anger.

_She lied. She left. She didn't trust me. She wasn't my friend!_

Words such as these repeated over and over again, trying to block out the soft, melodious voice that used to make Gaara's head lift up in order to see the source. He gritted his teeth beneath his sand armor, making it slightly thicker for no other reason than just trying to use up chakra. As more sand broke and fell above him, the Suna genin glanced at the half moon in the sky. The winds were cold and brushed his armor, so he could feel none of the chill.

But his heart was already frozen, and every time he found more anger to vent, it cracked just a little, making his mind go crazy and overwhelming his sense to kill.

"Gaara!" A female voice, the last voice he wanted to hear, sounded from behind him, and said genin flung around vehemently, venom dripping over his words as he snapped back, "What?"

"Gaara, please come home," Temari pleaded, Kankurou behind her, silent but looking as disgusted as all the villagers he had seen this week.

"I have no home, get out of my face," Gaara replied icily, and was surprisingly excited to see Kankurou stiffen at his tone.

"Don't talk like that to her!"

"Do you think you can talk like that to _me_?"

"Why, you...!"

Gaara sneered as the puppet welder charged forward, ignoring Temari's shouts to retreat, and was met with a mouthful of sand almost as hard as rock. Kankurou coughed up the crimson liquid Gaara wanted to see, and felt the Shukaku within him shiver with incredible delight. He felt high, and almost happy at the sight of his brother getting hurt. So he continued to use his sand to punch him, kick him in the guts, until Kankurou looked almost close to death and collapsed, unconscious. The thrill from seeing him in pain wasted, Gaara shifted his gaze to Temari, who was frozen solid at where she had been at the start.

"Gaara, please," her voice soft, the red haired teenager could barely see the tiny tears she was shedding under the dark night. The way her eyes communicated was with fear and concern at the same time. But Gaara was almost sure the concern was not for his life.

He spun away, stomping as hard as he could on the soft sand to another quiet area where he could satisfy his hunger. He knew of a small village near the edge of the Wind Country, and with the malicious Shukaku licking its drunken lips inside him, he set off into the night with a sudden burst of speed.

-

Seki felt the cool walls of the cave, time passing so slowly she could almost feel her tears evaporating off her face. Once she was aware her uncle was no where near her range of attacks, she breathed easier, glad that he would not be here if she turned insane again.

The thought made Seki choke slightly, a dull ache in her heart making itself known. The kunoichi was aware of her constant insane periods, sometimes she even welcomed it, as Nibi took over her mind and controlled her movements. She didn't have to think, to remember. But as her stamina was exhausted each time, last minute regrets formed and she became aware of the lives she had taken. Her will was no longer as strong, and she had no desire to be a better person anymore.

"What's the point of trying to be a good person? No one would believe you anyway," Seki mumbled, wrapping her arms around her knees and placing her head on top of them. _Its not fair_.

"So you're giving up?" Seki's head lifted up immediately, hand nearly grabbing her kunai until she realized it was Tomiro. She sighed and placed her head down again, listening to the sound of shuffling feet and someone sitting down.

"Leave me alone."

"You are, aren't you?"

"..."

"God, you're so stupid," Brown hair flying as Seki's head shot up, Tomiro tried to look calm even as he watched boiling anger form within Seki's red eyes. He had no intent on insulting his savior's niece, but after days of watching her waste her life away, he needed to wake her up.

At least, for the sake of Keimyou, who was obviously suffering inside.

"You've been moping and crying and just tormenting yourself over something as trivial as shifting of homes. What was so nice about Sunagakure that made you hate to come here? Do you know your petty attitude of yours is making Keimyou worried? Or, are you so lost in your own self-pity that you've forgotten the people who actually care for you-"

"I didn't forget him!" Seki snapped, eyes burning with angry tears. "You have no idea what it was like there! You have no idea how hard it is to lose my home, my family, _again_! You have no idea what it is like to be _me_, so shut your mouth and leave me alone if I'm so stupid!" Tomiro stood up so fast Seki nearly hit the wall behind her. She choked back on a sob that tried to come out, her pride getting in the way of her tears as it stopped flowing. She thought that Tomiro was nice, but here he was being such a jerk, saying things with that horrible tone, as if she was so weak, pathetic.

"Unfortunately, I can't be embarrassed because I _do_ know what it is like to lose your family. But I'm sorry you had to experience it once more. And I know I will never know what it is to be like _you_, because you're obviously giving up."

"I am not giving up!"

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"You are!"

"I'm not!"

"The Houseki Raion I knew from what Keimyou told me before was a strong-willed girl who never let anyone's opinions affect her way of living life! Her determination was so strong she was willing to suffer anything just so she can be a shinobi, to right the wrongs and to be a good person! She was hardworking, confident and considerate of everyone around her! So yes, I do not know what it is like to be you, because I think I am more like Houseki Raion than a loser like you! Hey!"

Tomiro grabbed air as Seki leaped away from the cave and further into the forest. She could sense Tomiro's chakra behind her, but sped up in an attempt to lose him. She knew she could do it, and when he was finally out of range, she dropped down to the base of a tree to rest. She panted slightly, having not done any exercise at all since coming to Takigakure. The only reason she was still fit was because the Nibi made sure she worked all her muscles while she was insane.

Seki smiled grimly at the irony, but it slid off her face as Tomiro's words came ringing back into her mind. She bit her lip, trying to stop the floodgates.

And suddenly, she really felt stupid. She could not remember ever crying so much, and over what? Gaara? Sunagakure? Even as those memories pricked her brain, Seki kept her thoughts running in her head.

What was she doing? Why was she like this now? She couldn't understand why it hurt so much to leave her home back in the Sand. Was it because she lost the chance to take part in the Chuunin exams? Her chance to prove herself?

_Haruhi's right_, Seki thought, _I am giving up. I've given on everything, just using the excuse of leaving Sunagakure to stop training and stop working hard. I've made Keimyou so worried!_ Seki hugged her knees to herself, her heart wrenching at the thought of her uncle, the only relative she had, and here she was, taking advantage of his love. She felt so disgusted at herself, at her pathetic, weak self. In a fit of anger, she thrusted her palms to the tree in front of her, a horizontal tornado instantly forming and tunnelling into the tree bark. The attack was over in a matter of seconds. It happened so quick, even Seki was surprised.

_Since when was I this fast?_ Seki looked at her palms, blinking in shock.

"Ah! My babies!"

Seki looked up, alarmed at the sudden presence of a stranger and rushed over, hoping she hadn't really killed anyone.

"Is everything okay?"

"Look at what you've done!" A girl with copper-red hair, almost half the height of Seki (which was saying a lot, Seki was only 152cm) was panicking over something colourful, crushed under the gigantic tree trunk. Seki felt her heart lurch, quickly summoning her chakra onto her palms and pressing them under the tree trunk and lifting it off the ground. She threw it aside, the trunk landing with a loud "THUMP!" and quickly looked down to examine the damage done.

"Ahh, my flowers! What's wrong with you, suddenly destroying trees out of nowhere?! My dad's a shinobi and he will so kick your butt once he finds out about this!"

"You... You were yelling about your carnations?" Seki muttered, staring wide-eyed at the 'babies' the red-head was so distraught about. Obviously, she didn't like Seki's skeptical tone and huffed.

"They're not just carnations! They're my babies! I've been growing them since I was 5 and I was going to bring them for show and tell tomorrow! They are so hard to grow in Takigakure, carnations grow better in dryer countries, and you just destroyed the- What's so funny?" The girl looked at Seki weirdly, who was shaking furiously in giggles.

She had no idea what come over her, but somewhere in between the relief of not killing someone, and her reaction when she thought she did, Seki managed to grab enough sense to calm down her giggles and face the young girl, still staring at her. She did not seem to be mad at Seki anymore, but rather, was watching her reaction curiously, like she was some new animal she had discovered.

"My name is Chikako."

"Seki," Seki replied, shaking the small girl's hand after she had recovered. Chikako nodded gravely, as if Seki's name seemed to be an important note. Seki smiled at her expression, and watched as Chikako suddenly started to look around for something.

"Did you drop anything?"

"No, I'm looking for any carnation that didn't get wrecked by your clumsiness."

"Clumsiness?"

"Obviously, you're too weird to be a shinobi, so you must have accidentally knocked the tree down," satisfied with her explanation, Chikako continued to dig through the fallen pieces of wood for her precious carnation. Seki chuckled slightly and looked around too.

This went on for a few silent minutes, and Seki felt content at this simple act of looking. She knew what she was looking for, and didn't have to worry about what happened later. It was pure bliss, to not think about anything. The only downside was that Seki knew it wouldn't last forever.

"I found one!" Chikako exclaimed, holding up a pink carnation that seemed to be floating in the air. Seki smiled gently, watching the pink flower move in the slight breeze and Chikako's waving. She watched the happy little girl celebrate her achievement, her content in such a little joy and longed for it as well.

Chikako must have noticed Seki's smile had disappeared, for in a moment, she was right beside the teenager, and pressing the delicate little pink carnation that was Chikako's treasure, onto her palm. Without letting Seki retaliate, Chikako let out a string of sentences, "Don't worry, I can find something else for show and tell. Its such a dumb thing to do in a shinobi school anyway. I don't know why they are teaching us these because good shinobis should be learning how to fight instead of how to present their show and tell. You look kind of sad, and since you don't seem to have any friends, I'll be your friend. Except, recently mum didn't allow me to go out so often so I might not see you in a while, because I snuck out. So here's a little farewell gift, a pink carnation means "I'll never forget you". You can give it to someone else if you want, but I just want you to know I won't forget you Seki."

And a smile.

Seki unconsciously brought her hand to her chest, the hurting left part suddenly easing a little. She pulled Chikako to herself, hugging her tightly and cried when the young red-head innocently did the same.

-

Gaara knelt on the ground, his hands gripping the strands of his soft red hair, trying to pull it out of his noisy head. He cried out into the night, and panted heavily, opening one eye to see the path of corpses he had just caused a few minutes ago.

_Kill. Hurt. Crush. Destroy._

_These weaklings are nothing to you. And you are nothing to them._

_You are a bakemono._

Gaara might have shed tears if it was possible for him, and even if he did, no one would've seen it. Hidden beneath his armor, his mask, Gaara suddenly felt vulnerable. He was invincible, he was the most talented and most feared shinobi of the sand. But he was messed up inside.

Everything was flowing to the front of his eyes. Maybe it was the silence, the emptiness of the night, the loneliness eating away his soul; his memories were right in front of, displaying themselves so clearly Gaara almost felt he was reliving them once more. Yashamaru, Kazekage, Temari, Kankurou, Keimyou and Seki flew by slowly, yet quickly. As if a glass splinter was working its way into his body, Gaara felt the pain of hurting.

Not because of loneliness.

Not because of his dangerous self.

Not because of the monster within him.

But because of the feeling of being left behind.

He was hated, so he should hate. He was not loved, so he loved himself. People fought him, and he fought himself. No one was there for him. No one will ever be there for him. They will just be there, waiting for him to kill them one by one.

_Yes, that's it_, Gaara thought, recalling similar words he had told a girl the first night she arrived in the Sand.

His existence meant nothing to anyone.

And no one meant anything to him.

He was alone.

-

"Chikako!"

Seki and Chikako looked up from their embrace, and saw a beautiful young woman gracefully walking over. Seki stood up politely, and was about to greet the woman when she recognized her face. It was a villager whose friend she had brutally murdered a few days ago. Seki did not recall the friend's face, but when she was conscious and dragged out to the village market by Keimyou, that same woman had started screaming at her, calling her names and hurling insults that Seki had let slide past her that time. Keimyou never brought her out again.

"Chikako! Come here right now!" Seki watched her face turn from a frown, to confusion, and to horror. Chikako was puzzled at her facial expressions as well, but before she could say anything, the woman had dashed over and snatched Chikako away, pulling her as far as possible before inspecting her every inch of her body.

Seki felt like she was slapped, and observing the woman's lips, she could tell that she was explaining to Chikako who she was and why she shouldn't be with me. It would have been bearable if Chikako had not turned to look at her, shocked and confused, as if asking, "Why did you lie to me?"

_I didn't lie! I didn't, I... I was.._

_**You let an innocent little girl come near you, when you were so susceptible to insanity. You endangered her life. Aren't you just a bakemono, ki-chan?**_

Seki could only remember Chikako's screams.

-

* * *

**A/N:** Hello again! Hope you like this chapter. It was actually pretty rushed because I watned to post something up on gaara's birthday, but I realized I had typed out chapter 19, 20 but not 18!! 

Please, please like it! Crunchyroll has a story writing competition and I want to enter it! XD Review even if you don't like it, I need OPINIONNNNS.

**Chikako** – Child of wisdom  
**Tomiro** – Fortunate child

I like the name eh? ;D

-JE


	19. Giving Up

**A/N:** Hello everyone! Its due time for an update isn't it? I would like to thank NeferNeferi for his/her review because it helped me, and inspired me to write even more. So thanks a lot NeferNeferi!

To help the confusion, I hereby announce that Haruhi's name is changed to **TOMIRO**. Don't ask me why, I just changed it. And I have edited the other chapters of his name so do not worry. He is still a guy too.

And other than that, keep reading and loving the story! Here's chapter 19.

-

* * *

**Hurting**

"There's no other place to go."

"We've waited for 12 hours now. How much longer do we have to wait?"

Hinata looked up from Akamaru as she, Shino and Kiba tensed at the familiarity of the voices. As their footsteps drew near, the rookie team saw, and shuddered at the sight of Sabaku no Gaara. The older teenagers looked their way and smirked, and Hinata blushed, knowing their fears were written all over their faces. She had a strange feeling though, as she watched the shorter redhead lead the way, that he was not what he seemed.

Although he hardly took a glance at them, Gaara recognized their fear, and fed from it. The same fear he had sensed after he killed the rain shinobis with their pathetic hidden needles. They were way below his level, not even worthy of his look. Only sources to feed his hungry monstrosity within.

But he turned his head for a fraction of a second anyway, and laid his blue-green eyes on a purple haired kunoichi. Hinata's disposition was that of embarrassment, fear, inferiority and...

Curiosity?

He turned away, his thoughts void of anything even close to mild interest.

-

"...S-Seki..."

Exhausted, her fatigue mind struggled to pay attention to the young girl in front of her. Red hair blinded her sight for a while, but Seki managed, somehow, to focus.

The image presented in front of her made her stomach lurch uncomfortably. Blood flowing everywhere, the rain that was pouring down made it swim towards Seki and she could feel its stickiness on her hair. Her eyes looking up, she saw a lifeless figure in a kimono and saw a flash of graceful walking in her mind. Tears already brimming her eyes, Seki felt her body shiver as the cold wind brushed her skin, more of it exposed due to some tears in her clothes.

"Seki?" The weak voice captured Seki's attention and she wanted to cry out in pain at the disfigured person in front of her, that was Chikako. Her face bloodily slashed by something similar to claws, and her arms had the same crimson liquid spurting out mercilessly. Chikako didn't seem to have any strength to walk, probably due to broken legs, and was painfully trying to drag herself closer to Seki. Her mind awoke at the thought and despite her aching limbs, the kunoichi tried to push herself away.

"No, stay away, I might-"

"I knew you weren't that monster, Seki..."

That made Seki stop, and salty tears mixed with the rain as they caused wet streaks down her face. Sitting up slowly, Seki watched Chikako move closer towards her until she could finally rest her head on Seki's lap. Sobbing furiously now, her hands trembled as they cupped the young girl's face. They were still full of life, bright even though the fire within her was slowly dimming.

"I-I'll get you a doctor, he'll save you! I'll make sur-"

"Seki, why did you leave? I know you aren't the monster, why didn't you protect me? Seki, don't forget me? I'm sorry I'm not strong enough. Stupid shinobi school..." Chikako coughed at the last sentence, and Seki, despite her heart clenching at her words, let out a grim chuckle. Innocent Chikako, however, seemed happy with it though, and smiled as much as she could even though Seki knew she was hurting.

"Chikako..." Seki whispered as thunder boomed and lightning flashed above her. She pulled the girl into her chest, aligning their heart beats as one, between their cold shuddering bodies. As Chikako's smile disappeared with her life, Seki held the body of her first friend in Takigakure tightly, as if trying to contain the soul from drifting away.

"I'm sorry."

As if needle had pricked her heart muscle, Seki felt herself bleeding inside, the pain overwhelming her senses. She cried, so loudly that even Tomiro who stood beside her could feel the hurt racking her entire being. Seki slowly let Chikako's body lie on the soft ground, before gripping herself hard. Tomiro saw small traces of blood being washed away from Seki's arm, but did nothing because he knew she was trying to use pain to override pain.

But the tricky wounds were always the wounds of the heart.

"Tomiro, th-thank you," Tomiro looked down in surprise, watching as Seki looked up to meet his eyes. He knew it was difficult for her, so he crouched down to smile gently at her, hoping to ease the pain a little. Tomiro nodded, understanding her meaning and embraced her, knowing the warmth he could provide was far from the one she wanted.

But at least, he had some to share.

Tomiro turned his head to look at Chikako, his own heart wrenching at the empty shell that once held a soul and a heart. The wisdom of her words, he would never forget, and he knew that Seki would not either.

"Rest in peace, cousin."

-

Gaara looked down distastefully as time seemed to crawl. He watched pair after pair of mildly interesting people face off, his hands itching for a fight ever since Uchiha Sasuke's name appeared on the electric board.

He saw the lavender eyes of both shinobis walk towards the middle of the floor, a characteristic unique to the Hyuuga clan. Thoughts slowly drifted to the previous fight out of boredom, the one with the loud-mouthed twerp who would not shut up about being Hokage. Gaara skipped it, taking a short glance at the bobbed hair genin donning a green jumpsuit, his similarly dressed mentor beside him.

_Strong, you say?_ Gaara thought, wickedly excited. Although the thrill bombarded his head, no one noticed any difference with his stoic expression, his arms crossed without moving an inch. The redhead barely realized the fight had started, seeing as the male Hyuuga Neji was attempting to persuade the female to withdraw. Covered in a thick jacket, there was nothing special about the kunoichi just as Gaara had predicted before. The male seemed to be strong, Gaara sensed the power of his chakra, and was hardly concerned at the amount he felt.

"You're wrong! I-I wa-wanted to change!" Soft spoken Hyuuga Hinata tried to defend her own beliefs. This led to more talking by the male Hyuuga, before the hyperactive, annoying genin called Uzumaki Naruto interrupted with a few words of his own. Before long, the action began to happen.

His invisible eyebrow twitching, Gaara was caught between interested, _finally_, at the male Hyuuga's skill, and surprised at the female Hyuuga's change in attitude. It was almost as if an alternate persona had taken over her, discarding all the fears and hesitation.

_I'll change. And become the shinobi I want to be._

Frowning heavily, he kept his eyes on the battle below. He knew he couldn't see the chakra that was pumped out through the palms of the Hyuugas' hands, but there was no doubt of internal damage when the female Hyuuga was pushed down. Neji lectured her again, but Gaara heard no words as he saw the coughed up blood from Hinata.

"I... will not... take back... my... words," Hinata panted out as she regained her balance, taking a huge amount of effort just to sound out each word. Gaara felt his brain twitch, mostly from the amount of blood he had seen so far. His inner demon seemed to shiver with glee, but behind it all, something else nudged him.

_I will not take back my smile._

Gaara could not phantom a reason or cause for the voice. He heard no tone, no sound, almost as if the words were written in front of him. But he heard it.

It wasn't long before Hinata was back on the ground, caused by a near-fatal blow to her heart. The sand welder was as passive as he looked, once again, even though the monster beneath his calm composure was ready to burst, while the judge decided to end the match.

"Don't stop the match!"

Gaara did not even look up at the boy clad in an orange jacket. His eyes narrowed, the black outlines nearly joining as the motionless Hinata started to tremble. He lifted his head higher in surprise.

The struggling kunoichi placed her hands on the ground, trying to support herself despite her lack of energy. Slowly, _very_ slowly, but surely, she was on her own two feet again, muttering nonsense like how she could still fight. Her appearance was already proof enough: she could no longer fight.

Everyone stared down as Hinata struck a nerve on a sensitive topic, and resulted in Neji angrily dashing towards the weak girl. With a cloud a sudden smoke, four jounins restrained the skilled, but brash male Hyuuga. Gaara could hardly care about what happened after that, until someone caught his attention.

And no one could grab everyone's focus as effectively as Konoha's No. 1 loud-mouth genin.

"I will win!" Naruto declared boldly, Hinata's blood dripping from his clenched fingers.

Despite the fact his the sight of Hinata's blood, Gaara felt a part of his mind take in the look in Naruto's eyes.

Fierce determination, as seen in Hinata, the green jumpsuit genin, and... others. Names failed to fill in the blank that Gaara left, purposely erasing any hints. He watched the medical team carry the female Hyuuga out of the building, a strange feeling of deja vu overwhelming him. He couldn't _not_ feel it, as much as he blocked out emotions. He could refuse to acknowledge it, of course.

In which, this was currently very easy to do as another feeling washed over any previous thoughts. A shinobi was summoned in to clear the mess, but the smell was already inside his body, travelling around his senses as it awoke a bloodthirsty monster inside.

_Too long_, Gaara thought impatiently, although none was shown on his face. A quick shunshin and he appeared in a whirl of sand on the lower level before the board even finished matching up names.

**GAARA VS ROCK LEE**

Plain turquoise eyes directed its cold and murderous gaze towards Lee's dark ones that were shining with the flames of determination and resolution. Refusing to give in to the exclaims of his past, to remember, Gaara let his other side take over, the one that yearned for blood and death, for pain and hurt.

This was the side of Gaara everyone would see, and remember.

-

Keimyou ran around the house in a blind rush, trying to make sure both Seki and Tomiro stayed warm and that his house was not blown down by the sudden thunderstorm. After meeting both teenagers supporting each other outside his porch, Keimyou had not stopped for a minute to think about what had happened. As soon as the storm had lessened and his niece had stopped shivering so vigorously, he relaxed a little and went to cook some chicken soup.

Tomiro and Seki accepted a bowl each gratefully, and Keimyou's heart felt warm as well, as he watched Seki gulp down the soup hungrily in the old manner she used to do. Without a second thought he went to hug her, testing Seki's shinobi skills as she balanced the bowl with one hand and embraced Keimyou with the other.

"Here, I'll take that," Tomiro said softly as he took away Seki's bowl. She smiled a small smile and wrapped both arms around her uncle. A few seconds later however, Seki looked up to observe Tomiro as he helped to keep the bowls of soup. A guilty feeling seeped into Seki as she realized she never took the time to get to know him, or even look at him. She noticed he had brown hair as well, tousled in a messy way, but it seemed to fit him. His eyes were a mix of deep purple and black, and his complexion tanned. He was not very muscular, but Seki knew he was strong when he had supported her back from the forest. She recalled Tomiro mentioning his age around 16, so that made him much more mature than she was.

"Tomiro," said shinobi turned and was taken aback when Seki wrapped her arms around him as well. Keimyou chuckled as Tomiro blushed at the close contact and awkwardly embraced Seki back.

"Thank you," Tomiro looked down and noticed Seki had not opened her eyes. Glimmering drops of tears appeared and he smiled gently, slowly pushing her away and brushing her tears away.

"My father once said, even if you divert from the original path, it will always be there, awaiting your return."

"So did Iwashi," Seki look around to Keimyou, who was smiling as well. He placed a hand on her head and kissed Seki's forehead, softly, in an encouraging voice, saying, "Welcome back, Houseki Raion."

And Seki smiled.

-

He could only glare at the annoyingly green jumpsuit, the one that was on Lee's mentor, and tremble.

With fear? Hatred? Hunger? He did not know. He could only maintain this confusion he felt, and suddenly was boiling with rage and struggled to make his words out. When he did, after all that effort, he got an answer he could not understand:

"He is an important subordinate that I love."

Feeling his sand build up again on his body, Gaara slowly stood up to leave. If he could not understand it, he didn't need to know it. He heard the mentor call out Lee's name, and turning his head, he could only watch as the mentor embraced Lee in a way Gaara could not identify. The fact that he could not understand it made him angry this time, for a reason he did not know.

_They are nothing to you._

Gaara realized he was stalling and walked towards the stairs, his unblinking eyes reflected nothing in them—no intent to kill or seek pain anymore. It was with these turquoise eyes, that he connected his gaze with Uzumaki Naruto, and observed _his_ sky blue eyes, filled with anger and hate. Gaara assumed they were very different from his own feelings, but just as easily as he thought of it, it disappeared. _He is nothing to me_. His mind blank, the redhead willed his sand to bring him back.

"Welcome back, Gaara," Temari said softly as the redhead genin shunshin right beside her and Baki. He took a sideways glance at her, knowing that there was nothing about his appearance that would betray his feelings. Although in truth, any feelings he had other than the satisfied hunger of the demon within him had long ago died off. The voice he had heard was gone and he knew he would not hear it for a long time.

His mind as empty as a piece of paper, he waited, patiently this time, for the last match to end before he gathered with the other winners back on the ground to hear the instructions for the main matches. Although Gaara absorbed the information like a sponge, he was not really listening.

Similarly, his heart was beating, but not living.

-

In the empty space of her room, Seki let loose her true emotions, unhindered by Keimyou and Tomiro's presence.

Even though she had assured both of them she was fine, and that she had decided to renew her efforts to work hard as a shinobi, the truth was that Seki was still hurting. She had not lied, and truly was grateful for Tomiro's wake up call.

But her heart could not deny that the new pain had become part of the dull ache of her heart, still chipping bits of her soul away.

"Chikako, I'm sorry," Seki whispered as softly as she could, her quiet sobs choking her as the crushed pink carnation lay upon her palms. She had found it inside her pocket of her torn pants, and quickly bade Tomiro and her uncle good night so that she could mourn over Chikako the way she knew how.

It was silly, of course. But Chikako had opened Seki's heart with her innocent self and naïve personality. She had not known of the danger Seki was, she did not realize the reason her mother had prevented her to go outdoors was because of Seki. She did not know, because Seki didn't let her know.

And with that thought, Seki whipped out a kunai and poised it above her left wrist.

"If only you knew, you would still be alive."

Utilizing her artistic skills, Seki gritted her teeth and swiftly carved a simple picture of a carnation on her wrist, biting back her screams as the physical pain shot up her arm. Once the bleeding stopped, Seki reached into her sling bag and pulled out some bandages, wrapping the entire length of her lower arm as the 'stalk' of her carnation reached up her elbow.

Standing up, Seki looked at herself in the mirror. Her brown hair was still a little wet, and she finally noticed the orange streaks that was the result of an overuse of her orange dye. It grew a little longer than shoulder length, so Seki used an black string to tie it into a ponytail. Her shirt was muddy and torn, same as her black pants. Quickly sifting through her belongings, she put on some new clothes and attached on her weapons holster.

"Houseki Raion," Seki called out to the mirrored image of herself. She was about to smile when she suddenly recalled that her smile was the reason for Chikako's death. She was too friendly with Chikako, and Chikako liked her smile, her friendliness. Chikako died because she was Seki's friend.

She could not take it anymore. Seki could take no more hurt, no more pain, no more tears. Anymore and she would break. Her eyes drifted over to the calender on her bed, not sure why, until she slapped herself mentally for reminding her own heart that it was the Chuunin examinations. After a while though, she was relieved that she was not there. She would only be a danger to everyone.

"Houseki Raion, the monster."

The untouched bed covers flapped gently in the wind that blew through the open window.

-

* * *

**A/N:** This looks shorter, but has a lot more words than I expected. I hope you guys can understand Seki's pain, she really loved Sunagakure. And, yeah. She loved the place. Haha.

**Tomiro** – Fortunate child

READ AND REVIEW THANKS!

-JE


	20. Memories of Time

**A/N:** HONTO NI GOMENASAI!! I am especially apologetic for this time because I even got a pm from someone who wanted to know when I'll be posting the next chapter!

For people who don't quite understand, bottom line is that this is a pretty crucial year for me right now, because I have this ideal subject combination I want for my next year, but it requires 3.2 GPA in my overall score. AKA I need to get like, A for everything?! And whats more I've just failed all my recent tests. EVERY SUBJECT! Omg I wanted to cry, really, its so tiring to balance everything.

On a better note, I won my SJAB zone competition. Its like a semi finals, so now I'm moving on to finals! Training hasn't started yet, but it will start in a couple of weeks and then I'll be even more busy. HONTO NI GOMEN! I'll try to get a chapter out before I start going crazy!

About this chapter, its a 5 year skip. Yep, sorry for this sudden development, I was actually planning two more chapters before the eventual time skip in my fic, but looking over them, they were like, redundant things that I could probably reiterate in future chapters, like in flashbacks or what not. Anyhow, I had to redo chapters 20 and 21, so its a miracle I finished 20 in one day. My fingers hurt now. --

Anyway, on with the chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**Hurting**

Memories are like the scenery in the rain. The image is blurred, vivid colours here and there, basic shapes forming, but none too clear or precise. You cannot for sure, tell that the little light coming from your right is a lighthouse, or that a thatched hut at the bottom of the hill is small. The rain makes you see through frosted glass, just as how memories become over time. In the end, we can only guess what had happen, fill in the gaps here and there. We may not be accurate, or even correct, but as long as those memories are happy, worth cherishing, we will find the appropriate answers to fill in the blanks.

However, sometimes we do not want to remember. The scenes become blocked, darkened with pastel colours that represents your feelings. Some of them fade into the background, becoming one of the vivid colours that fills your mind. You don't see them, and sometimes you doubt they were truly reality. In the end, you throw it aside, labeled a dream, a fantasy, something you do not ever have to remember.

But regardless whether they were precious memories, painful memories, the fact remains that they are still in your head. They might have been drenched in the rain, soaked and stepped on, ignored and weathered, but they are there, waiting for you to see them, waiting for you to notice that you had such memories.

No matter how long, 5 years, 4 months, 2 weeks, a day, a minute, an hour.

Memories are created and placed inside the treasure box we hold in our hearts. Its just a matter of choice whether we want to open it or not.

-

**5 years later, in Takigakure...**

The night was eerily quiet, and the moon was blocked by clouds, preventing it from shedding some light on the ground. Plants waved slightly in the darkness at the presence of an occasional breeze, before standing stock still as if painted on a picture. A lone man was strolling along a worn path in the middle of a forest in Takigakure. He was sweating, and evident droplets were dripping down his face. However, he shivered when he looked around, indigo-like eyes unable to notice anything out of place. It made him wary, just a little bit, to be out in the middle of the night. He gritted his teeth as he recalled the reason why he was out here in the first place and quickened his pace.

Heaving a sigh of relief he had no idea he was holding, the man arrived at his destination and knocked on the door, combing back his brown hair wet with sweat with his fingers. When he heard no answer, he knocked harder, irritation unwillingly surfacing.

"That little brat," he cursed under his breath. He turned around to lean on the door, but just as his weight rested upon the wood, it disappeared from behind him, causing the poor man to yelp and fall flat on his back. Groaning in pain, the man rolled over, rubbed the sore spot that had formed near the bottom of his spine before he realized that something was amiss.

"Keimyou? Seki?" The man called out softly into the darkness. Walking tentatively on the wooden floorboards, he avoided the ones that creaked loudly and finally found his way in the pitch blackness to the living room. A flicker of light appeared out of nowhere.

"What the...?"

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!" A gust of wind knocked Tomiro over as the lights were switched on and a huge banner hanging in the middle of the room blinded him with its bright yellow and lime green colours clashing together, horribly.

**HAPPY 21ST BIRTHDAY, TOMIRO!**

"Birthday?"

"Look, Keimyou. He works so much as a Jounin he hardly remembers the days of the year," a light voice wafted its way into Tomiro's ears, instinctively causing his eyes to look up at the owner of the voice. Seki Raion grinned at the man and stuck out her hand to help him up. Tomiro grudgingly accepted it and pulled himself to a steady position before observing his surroundings.

The place was decorated in a messy, yet playful fashion, with yellow and green streamers everywhere, balloons and mini-banners proclaiming well wishes for him. He could recognize some of the neat handwriting that were those of the villagers from Takigakure, but knew why they were not there to greet him with Seki and Keimyou.

"Yellow and green?"

"She reasoned green was the colour of your jacket and yellow was your personality."

"Yellow?" Tomiro unconsciously made a disgusted face at the word. Seki narrowed her eyes and sent a wave of air towards him, pushing the tired man back onto the ground.

"OOF! Do you ever grow up, brat?"

"Shut it! I worked hard on the decorations!" Seki shouted back, straddling her friend and pulling his collar up threateningly. On any other day, when Tomiro wasn't already worked to the point of collapse, he would've taken the girl on, even though most of the time he lost. He enjoyed those sessions with her, the only time, he reckoned, he could ever see some real emotion in her eyes.

Even now, although he hid his hurt, he could see that her grins, her laughs, did not reach her eyes of ruby red. He pushed the girl off, and got to his feet, noticing the cake on the coffee table in the middle of the room (with green and yellow icing as well).

"Seki baked it today," Keimyou said, smirking at Seki's frustrated expression at being unable to pin Tomiro down.

"Yech! Its probably filled with yellow and green things too."

"No! Its chocolate inside, but if you don't want it, I'll take it all!"

"H-Hey! Whose birthday is it?!"

Keimyou chuckled at their childish antics and the irony of Tomiro's earlier statement. He wished he could capture this moment forever, and keep up this atmosphere. Of course, Seki and Tomiro did make fun of each other every day. Keimyou would also have some fun teasing his niece. But he was not stupid, and like Tomiro, he knew that Seki never truly felt happy on those occasions, even if its a smile that greeted them.

Today, he felt like he could almost see that smile from her heart. But ever since that night when she accidentally murde- no, killed, Tomiro's cousin, Chikako, Keimyou could not remember seeing that same smile he used to see before. The memories he had of them were fading away, and he longed for a chance to refresh his memory again.

"Keimyou, we're going to eat it all if you don't come," Tomiro grabbed Keimyou's attention, and he turned to see that 3 quarters of the cake was already gone.

"AH! Stop eating it, I haven't had my share!"

"Keimyou, you'll grow fat," Seki said through a full mouth. Her uncle merely stuck his tongue out, and Tomiro and Seki burst out in laughter at the hilarity of it.

"I'm so fit even two cakes of chocolate couldn't ruin my figure," Keimyou mumbled to himself as he happily gorged down the last quarter of the cake.

"Ahh! Keimyou I wanted that!"

"You? You had half the cake and its my birthday!"

"You didn't even remember it!"

"That's because I have a job, unlike SOMEONE who slacks around the whole day!"

"I do not slack around-"

Keimyou's chewing slowed down as he paused to view the scene before him.

_I suppose I should get some memories, even if it isn't real_, Keimyou smiled as he watched the pair of friends argue, finishing off the chocolate cake.

It was like watching a movie.

It had to end some time.

-

**In Sunagakure...**

"Eh?"

Temari looked over at the door, where her younger brother stood, a bored expression painted on his features. She put her leg down from the window ledge and sat straight on her chair, raising at eyebrow. Kankurou appeared behind the red head, leaning on the door frame and nodding as well.

"What? Can't your brothers show how much they appreciate you once in a while?"

"That's a long while," Temari murmured, but coughed at Gaara's stare. She frowned slightly, wondering how she should answer. In truth, since they never had a tradition to celebrate such occasions she never expected anything out of it. Currently, as well, there was nothing that appealed to her, other than maybe finding her soul mate, but her brothers didn't need to know that.

"I don't really know."

"Come on, how can girls not know what they want for their birthdays?"

"You seem to be an expert on them, you decide then."

"Temari, we just want to do something for you."

The blond smiled slightly at Gaara's concerned voice. She was still not used to him being so caring, even though it was already a natural thing for him to do. But she treasured the times he revealed his love for his family, even if it is for minor things like birthday presents.

"Maybe a trip to other countries? I haven't seen Konoha in a long time."

"Are you sure?"

"Isn't that idiot still living there?"

"Trust me, I'm fine," Temari reassured them, although Gaara's anger was already boiling in his sea foam eyes. Temari stood up and patted his shoulder, "Don't worry, I'm not a silly fan girl who takes a rejection so hard."

"Shut up," Gaara mumbled, looking away as Temari reminded him _again_ what a villager did after he declined her confession. His sister giggled, while his brother merely laughed and wet back to his room. Gaara was about to follow when he turned to look at his sister again.

"So, a trip to Konoha?"

"Yep," Temari agreed, sitting on her bed as he closed the door. She caught one last look at his eyes, which were always mesmerizing, even in the past. Even one look, she could see everything that he felt: contented, fortunate, worried.

And empty.

-

"By the way, isn't it almost time for your Jounin examinations?"

"Hn? Mm, its next month."

"Where is it held?"

"Konohagakure," Keimyou answered this for Seki as they cleared the decorations in the house. Tomiro looked back to Seki, but stopped himself from saying anything when he saw that the kunoichi wasn't attempting to disguise her empty look in front of him. He turned back to Keimyou, who shook his head, indicating that Tomiro should not ask about it.

They cleaned up the house in comfortable silence, Seki answering calls in monosyllables until it was finally 3am in the morning and she excused herself for bed. Tomiro watched her go, his heart sinking at being unable to get back her smile. He went up to Keimyou, but the elder shinobi had no intention of revealing the reason behind Seki's sudden depression.

"Its something that she should tell you herself if she wanted to. Haven't you two shared a lot of secrets over the years?"

"Yes, but she's never actually told me who she was talking about."

"Ah, well, don't worry. I think she trusts you, so its only a matter of time before she opens up."

"Hn, maybe," Tomiro replied, although he had little hope that it would actually happen. He bade Keimyou good night, left their house and strolled down the path towards the village, occasionally looking back to see the wooden home of theirs illuminated in the moon light. He was almost at the end of the path when a paper folded into a cat face floated in front of him, obviously carried by some mysterious wind. Tomiro held it in his hands and unfolded the origami cat, reading the words that were written on it.

_Happy Birthday, Miro_.

Tomiro smiled at the use of her nickname for him. He folded it neatly into a square and placed it on his chest, as if absorbing her sincerity into his heart. He suddenly had a flicker of hope, that maybe she would open up to him.

After all, they had been together for almost 5 years. When she had no one else to turn to and she didn't want to trouble Keimyou, her only friend and confidant was Tomiro. The latter would always find a way to make her smile, whether it was teasing her, getting her to fight him or just quietly listening to her cry, Tomiro had and would find a method to bring back the light in her eyes. Those memories they shared. He could never replace.

"Even if you are still hurting, I swear I will heal those wounds," Tomiro whispered to his heart, although the promise he made was for the one precious person he loved.

-

Seki removed her chakra from the air and descended into complete depression. She knew she ought not to be sad on such an occasion, but memories were memories, whether they were faded or faint, she could still see them.

The newspaper article lay on her neatly made bed, bold headlines screaming "KONOHA INVADED!". She could see from the window sill, the faint green highlights of a certain name which she had made when she first received the paper from Keimyou. At first, it didn't pain her so much to see his name, that was why she had naturally picked up the highlighter to pick out his name.

But after that, the reports went on and unwillingly, her wounds opened up, knowing she wasn't there to help, to save or be there with him, even though she said she understood him. She knew that feeling. He must have felt betrayed, to be said that he was finally understood, but leaving him afterwards.

She might as well have killed him.

Bearing it no longer, she jumped off the window and grabbed the paper, about to stuff it into her desk drawer when she froze in mid air. A shuriken peaked out from beneath a small stack of newspaper articles from Sunagakure.

"I almost forgot about that," Seki muttered to herself, placing the newspaper article ack, ignoring the rest and picking out the shuriken. She closed the drawer and lay on the bed, holding the shuriken up so that she could see it gleaming in the moon light. Even though there were some scratches on it, and a speck of blood stain, Seki admired it like it was an expensive painting in a museum. She could almost see the day again, the one day she could not control her hidden emotions anymore and ran away from Takigakure. She had not made it far, but far enough that she had no clue how to go back...

-

_She had gone through a whole day without any food before finally collapsing in a countryside with large weeds growing almost everywhere on short hills. She heard her stomach growling loudly, but gave into fatigue instead, watching the blue sky above until she fell asleep._

_She woke up at the sound of thunder and barely made it under a tree before the rain started to pour. Feeling cold, wet and hungry, Seki slumped against the tree, dropping to the ground. She screamed out her frustration into the sky that had darkened while she was asleep, but yelped when a crack of lightning sounded, catching her by surprise._

"_Don't you know that standing under trees is dangerous in a storm?"_

_Seki jumped at the sudden presence of a voice, and looked up, locking eye contact with deep, onyx pupils. Seki blinked several times as the owner of the voice and eyes jumped down from the tree branch he was perched on, landing so softly she knew he was a shinobi._

"_You could get struck by lightning."_

"_What about you?"_

_The boy smirked down at her. Feeling indignant, she quickly stood up, looking over the stranger. His hair was slightly wet from the rain, otherwise it was spiky in some areas, and hung down in others. Seki could see his outfit was made of white fabric, although some parts were darkened from the rain. He wore three-quarter pants and bandages on his right leg, both were wet as well from the rain. Through the drenched appearance, Seki could see that he was not bad looking, almost like Tomiro._

_A weird sound emitted from Seki's stomach, and the kunoichi clutched it in embarrassment._

"_Sorry, I haven't eaten all day, and..."_

_A box was dropped at her feet. Seki took only a moment to look up at the boy's stoic expression before diving for it. She opened the lid and breathed in the smell of cooked rice and chicken._

"_Itadakimasu," Seki quickly whispered and began shoveling the food as fast as she could down her throat. She could see out of the corner of her eye that the boy had sat down to watch her, and slowed down as if suddenly aware of his presence._

"_Thank you."_

"_For what?"_

"_The food."_

"_No problem."_

"_You don't want it?"_

"_Nope."_

"_Okay."_

_Seki could probably count the words she just said in two hands. The boy seemed happy enough to stay silent, just observing Seki. She wondered again, why he was out here if it was as dangerous as he said._

"_Aren't you scared of getting struck by lightning?"_

"_My chakra is lightning based."_

"_How convenient," Seki mumbled, making the guy chuckle. She finished the last grain of rice and placed it on the ground. "Gochisosama."_

"_What are you doing here?"_

"_What's your name?"_

"_Uchiha Sasuke."_

"_I ran away from home."_

"_What?" Uchiha Sasuke raised an eyebrow. Seki turned away, even though she could tell he wanted to know why. He didn't say anything though, and the silence only made her more irritated._

"_I wasn't getting stronger, I wanted to get better. But everyone just wanted to make me smile. Like I haven't smiled enough already."_

_Sasuke froze midway from smirking at Seki, making her stop too as she wondered what she said to receive such a reaction from him. She watched his fair face look downwards, fingering his weapons holster attached to his bandaged leg. Her body sense tensed for some reason, even though she knew he wasn't dangerous._

"_Did you leave someone important behind?"_

_This time, Seki froze at the sudden accuracy in his question. She felt her face flush at his intense gaze and scratched the ground. Thunder boomed around them, but silence enveloped their surroundings. Seki didn't even notice the rain that was blowing in until Sasuke grabbed her to her feet and pulled her inwards so that she wouldn't get wet. This caused her to be extremely close to his chest, since he was taller, and Seki could feel her body temperature rising despite the chilly weather._

"_People always think that when you leave someone important behind, you'll get sad. You can't blame them for being able to see through your mask."_

_Sasuke's deep voice struck Seki, as if he was talking from someone who knew what she was feeling. She plastered on a sarcastic smile, "What mask? I'm talking about stupid smiles and you're-"_

"_You're too obvious."_

_Seki silenced herself, although Sasuke's words weren't cutting, it was almost as sharp as a scream. It was like she was found out, but the way he said it, and the way his eyes darkened when he said it, Seki could almost feel like he knew what he was talking about. He didn't know Seki, he didn't care about her, so the only reason he could say those words is because he knew._

_He understood._

"_When people are lonely, it isn't because they're by themselves. Its because no one understands them," Seki whispered, her tears that she held inside her leaking out on their own. "If I could find someone that could, I would never want to leave him. Even if he understood only a little, I don't want to leave such a person behind."_

_Sasuke stayed still as Seki leaned on his chest and breathed slightly faster, her tears mixing with the wet stains of his outfit. She knew he was probably feeling uncomfortable, but when she felt a hand on her back, the warmth of his palm comforted her more than Keimyou's and Tomiro's._

_Because this warmth, truly understood what it was like to lose a precious person. She didn't have to ask him, Sasuke must have lost someone as well._

_That explains why his onyx eyes were as empty as hers_.

-

Seki opened her eyes, her memories ending as sunlight shone through her window. The shuriken still held in her palm, Seki breathed in and out slowly, calming herself down. She sat up and turned to the mirror beside her bed, examining herself for anything out of place. She practiced her smile, and laughed grimly at the idea of it.

"Aren't I already too obvious? Why am I still practicing?"

Her fingers felt the sharp prick as the shuriken pierced through the skin on her hand, but she ignored the physical pain, just as she ignored the emotional one. Looking down, her blood formed tiny droplets, before sliding down the length of her arm. It left behind a trace of red liquid, but Seki could only see the wound that was formed.

She felt like it was a representation of her heart. Being pricked, and bleeding, even though slightly, it hurt.

That's what memories do.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, SASUKE APPEARS!

I originally wanted this to happen, not because I recently watched the shipuuden anime. Although its hard to talk about Gaara when I don't see him at all.

But don't worry, this time skip means its like, a year or so past the manga storyline, so that means I can create anything I want! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

So yes, be prepared to see plot twists. I will be keeping the characters proper, although I may have to re read several chapters to recap what I wanted to do intentionally.

READ AND REVIEW AND REALLY** REALLY SORRY** FOR THE DELAY!

-JE


	21. Meeting Again

**A/N:** Well, I think I'll stop apologizing because I really am swamped with stuff to do, and I really want to get good grades this year, so I will need to study. I hope this is a good enough update. For now, its quite peaceful. On with chapter 21!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

Dawn rose like a blooming flower, the outside petals of maroon and orange chasing away the cold shadows of the night. Birds chirped with delight as warm colours of pink and yellow streaked through the clouds and gave colour to the village of Takigakure. Seki breathed in the fresh scent of flora and fauna surrounding her home and felt the droplets of dew hanging from her hair. She sat up, stretching the sore joints in her body until she felt the satisfying crack.

"Mm, should have slept in bed," Seki mumbled to herself. A delicious smell of pancakes wafted from below and Seki quickly descended from the roof top into her room. She tried to snatch an outfit from the cupboard, but paused as the sight of the empty box greeted her.

"Right. Today's the day."

Seki looked to her left, seeing the small backpack that carried her clothes placed beside the door. Glancing around the room, the absence of her weapons and stationary that had dotted the placed gave Seki a sense of emptiness. Even though she knew it had been a long time since she felt anything remotely emotional, the sick feeling of leaving her home again haunted her. She hurriedly picked up her backpack and plastered on a smile, skipping out of her room in the happiest way she knew how.

"Morning! I smelled pancakes!"

"Only way to wake up a lazy cat."

Seki turned towards Tomiro's voice, rolling her eyes as she watched her friend hoard the pancakes Keimyou was bringing out.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm following you guys, remember?"

"We don't need a babysitter."

"Aww, you say that, but you want me to come along, don't you?"

"Says who?"

"Admit it, you'll miss me."

"Fat chance."

"Alright, alright, settle down. No need to argue early in the morning. We have a long day ahead of us so please eat up," Keimyou entered with his last batch of pancakes that promptly served as a peace offering. Both teenagers fell silent and the only sound heard was the munching of pancakes. Keimyou joined in and observed Seki quietly, trying to find any signs of nervousness. Unfortunately, Seki had grown too good at hiding her emotions.

"You'll miss me, wouldn't you?"

Seki looked up at Tomiro. His mumblings were barely heard by Seki, let alone Keimyou. She took a wary sideways glance and whispered back fiercely, "What?"

"Admit that you would miss me."

"Not in a million years, dobe."

"After a million years?"

"Never."

"Never?"

"Ever. Now eat," Seki finished and continued chomping away as Tomiro stared at her. If Seki had been more observant, she would have noticed the sadness flashing through his purple eyes that told everything he felt about her. But Seki, oblivious to her own heart, could not notice his. Keimyou watched their banter, pretending to not hear although his own heart ached at Tomiro's pain.

"Can we go now?"

"Alright, Seki. Let's go," Keimyou stood up, collected their plates and washed them briefly, before placing them in the drawer. When he walked out, both Tomiro and Seki were already prepared with their backpacks. Keimyou looked back at the wooden house that had given them shelter for 5 years, smiled sadly before leading the other two out of Takigakure, and towards Konoha.

-

"What a crowd. I wonder what's going on?"

"Let's see then."

"You guys go ahead, I'll have to pay a visit to the Hokage."

"Alright, say hi to the dobe for me," Kankurou waved as Gaara made a hand motion his siblings assumed was a wave. Temari continued towards the thick mass of people, Kankurou following closely behind. Gaara took one last look back before he headed off towards the Hokage mansion.

"Let's welcome our next contestant, Ten Ten!"

"Hey, isn't she that girl from Lee's team?"

"Yeah, she looks kind of familiar," Temari said, mostly to herself as she walked a girl with twin buns on her hair step onto the makeshift stage. Her hands, which held scrolls the last time Temari saw her, were now handling thin sticks with ribbons at the end. At the beginning of the music, she leaped into a rhythmic dance, weaving her ribbons in between each other, connecting, disconnecting and waving them until the audience was mesmerized by her grace and style.

"Thank you, Ten Ten!" The master of ceremony bowed as Ten Ten left the stage, head held high like the proud kunoichi she was. Temari looked around and spotted a brochure in someone's hands, the headlines screaming, 'GIRLS TALENT SHOW!'. Kankurou, not very interested, tapped Temari on her shoulder, and the blond brushed him away, waving a little as the puppet master walked off to find some food. Temari was so absorbed in reading the brochure, she nearly missed the announcing of the next contestant.

"And now, for our last minute entry, we have Houseki!"

"Houseki?!" Temari's head snapped up, mouth agape as a lean girl walked up the stage, the familiar brown hair with permenant orange streaks gleaming in the sunlight. An internal conflict raged within Temari as she wondered whether to stay or to fetch her brothers. Her feet decided to stay rooted to the ground as the music played through the stereos, and the girl positioned herself. Temari realized her mouth was covered by a mask, similar to that of Naruto's ex-mentor, Kakashi.

"Damn it, is it you?" Temari muttered to herself, watching the performance until she too, was entranced by the skills of the dancer. She could not remember Seki being this proficient in the arts of dancing, in fact, she could not remember Seki being in Konoha at all!

"Thank you very much, Houseki! And now, it is time for the judges to pick a winner. Who will be the next Ms Konoha Talent?" The audience's whispers and mumbles grew to a noisy buzz as they waited for the results to be revealed. Temari tried to push her way towards the stage, but the crowd was as thick as honey, and refused to open up for her. At last, the MC walked back onto the stage, and the audience fell into a silent hush.

"Our new Ms Konoha Talent is... Houseki!" Temari clapped along with the others, and watched as the dancer leaped onto stage. She donned a completely black outfit, a plain halter top with pants that had bright orange swirls around the left pant leg. Her long hair was tied in a loose pony tail that hung down her bare back. A weapons holster on the right calf indicated that she was a kunoichi like Temari. Men wolf whistled at her, but the mysterious kunoichi made no acknowledgement. In fact, she went right to the MC, whispered something to his ear before taking a bag from his hands and disappearing in the maze of roof tops.

"It seems, Houseki would only like the prize money. Then the next Ms Konoha Talent is... Ten Ten!" Temari didn't wait to see how Ten Ten looked, speeding right after the 'Houseki', her heart beating fast with anticipation.

_Seki, is it really you?_

-

"Come in!"

Hinata pushed the door slowly, peeking inside as lavender met sky blue and aquamarine. Her eyes widened and she quickly stepped into the Hokage's office, a dash of pink settling just underneath her eyes.

"Go-Good afternoon, Hokage, Kazekage. You called for me?"

"Yes, Hinata, I want you to show Gaara around the areas we are going to use for the Jounin exams."

"I'm not a baby, I can move around myself."

"Nonsense! Enjoy the chance to stretch your legs! Unlike you, I need to finish up some paperwork before I can leave."

"I can't imagine you actually agreeing to do paperwork."

"Exactly, but I need to supervise Udon to make sure he does it right."

"Like you care..."

"I'll expect you and your siblings for dinner at Ichiraku! My treat."

"Sakura's treat, rather," Gaara sighed and stood up, walking over to the door, to be escorted by Hinata. The teenaged girl smiled at this friendly banter. She knew Naruto was extremely pleased with Gaara's presence, the Kazekage rarely came down for a visit. As soon as they were out of the Hokage mansion, she giggled.

"Naruto's really happy you're here today."

"Hn. Idiot has an excuse to skip paperwork."

"Yes, but he's been looking forward to your visit ever since your letter came in last week."

"Really? What do you do here? How come you're working for that dobe now?"

"Naruto has been kind enough to give me the role of Chief Mission Supervisor. I handle all the mission reports as well as mission distribution."

"So, that baka doesn't do anything?"

"He approves of the missions, I organize them."

"This position was created..."

"When Naruto became Hokage, of course."

"That slacker," Hinata laughed a little, and gave a knowing glance towards Gaara, letting the red head know that she was aware of Naruto's hidden agenda.

"I know, but he is really nice. He knew I needed to start off somewhere, and this position has given me a chance to gain more confidence."

"Really, how?"

"For one thing, I have to come up with the teams to be sent to these missions, as well as brief them on the objectives. Also, I only handle B rank and higher missions," Hinata finished, answering Gaara's silent question of her workload. The Kazekage nodded in understanding, and drifted off in thought. Hinata smiled slightly, wondering if the teenager was actually considering setting up a similar position back in Suna.

The purple haired girl soon realized that they were nearing the stadium that was going to be used for the Jounin examinations. Turning her head, she noticed Gaara was still in the midst of his reverie and took the time to observe him instead.

The last time they met, it was last year and Hinata was on a mission that required passage through Sunagakure. She briefly discussed the plans with the Kazekage and left as soon as a decision was made. Indeed, other than that and her frightening encounter with him in the Chuunin examinations, she had never been this physically close to Gaara.

But she have heard about him, especially from Naruto. When rumours about Naruto and Sakura came about, Hinata told herself to get over the blond Hokage, but her role as Chief Mission Supervisor didn't help matters. She found herself in Naruto's company more often than she'd liked, but these meetings allowed her to learn about the mysterious sand welder she met in her young teenaged years.

Looking at his serene expression now, the way his eyes softened at the mention of Naruto, Hinata found it hard to imagine him as a sadistic killer with a lust for blood. Instead, she found him rather attractive, his pale, flawless skin contrasting against his bright, red locks. Turquoise eyes that mesmerized her, and warm hands that could cover hers completely.

_Warm... hands?_

Hinata felt a jerk, as she was pulled to the side, Gaara gripping her left hand tightly, his other arm wrapping itself around her waist. A carriage raced past them, dust flying from the ground and floating in the air. Coughing, both teenagers moved away from the road.

"Are you alright?"

"Ye-Yes, thank you, you saved me," Hinata expressed her gratitude softly, eyes not quite meeting his as she felt herself blush furiously. She soon realized she was still in his arms, and unconsciously felt quite comfortable in that position. Her heart hammered against her chest, so loudly she was sure that was the reason Gaara pulled away.

"Sorry, I should've seen that carriage earlier."

"Its al-alright. I'm fine," Hinata tried to smile but looked away the moment Gaara caught her eye. Heat creeping up her neck, Hinata mentally admonished herself for feeling slightly sad when the red haired teenager let go of her hand. She took a timid glance at him, and saw that he was staring off into a distance.

"Did you see something?"

"No, I'm not sure."

Gaara felt as if the few seconds before was a dream. He knew he did not miss that long brown hair with orange streaks. There was only one person in the world who had such a hair colour. But as his chest ached at the painful memories, Hinata brought him back to reality, and he focused on what he was now, then what he was then.

"Do you still want to see the stadium?"

"Yes, let's go."

-

Temari cursed herself for being too slow. She knew she slackened down the last few months, but she didn't realize she had deproved to this state where she could not even catch up to her target. She tried to convince herself that that girl had unnaturally fast reflexes and speed, and was purposely trying to lose Temari. But at the great distance between them, the blond kunoichi doubted that she even realized her presence.

They were almost out of the village, nearing the stadium where Konoha was to hold the Jounin examinations, when the girl she was chasing halted in her tracks. Not ready to reveal herself, Temari paused on a nearby roof top, staring intently at the girl's figure.

The black dressed dancer, she almost looked like an assassin in broad daylight, her body was frozen on the perch of a tree, her pony tail whipping as she looked down at the ground. Temari followed her line of sight, and nearly gasped as the image before her, stunned her speechless.

Unfortunately, that distraction was all that mystery dancer needed to vanish from Temari's sight. The blond sand kunoichi clicked her tongue in frustration, but looked back down again, as Gaara finally separated himself from the Hyuuga girl Temari had seen often during her visits to Konoha. As the liaison between her village and Konoha, she knew almost everyone from both villages, but Hinata Hyuuga had been incredibly shy when it came to meetings.

"Gaara, what is going on?" Temari asked herself quietly, but decided to leave questions for tonight. Until then, she looked into the distance where she thought the dancer had gone, memories resurfacing without her asking.

_Seki Raion..._

-

Tomiro sat in the middle of the room Keimyou had rented for the three of them, legs folded and arms placed delicately on his knees. He kept his eyes closed, but his sharp ears caught the sound of the water in the bowl before him, swishing gently against the glass walls. He opened his eyes slowly, and watched a pillar of water rise from the bowl, nearly reaching the height of his head. A string of clear liquid disconnected itself from the pillar and weaved in and out of itself, until a flower was presented...

"YO!"

The water flower fell, splashing back into the bowl, and droplets of water dripped down Tomiro's face. A pulsating vein at his temple showed his irritation.

"Freaking brat..."

"I got our rent money for this month. Where's Keimyou?" Seki jumped inside the room, pulling off the mask she made on the way to Konoha. Tomiro didn't understand the mask's purpose, but like everything else about Seki, he didn't ask.

"He went downstairs to get dinner. What did you do to get all this money anyway?" Tomiro fingered the leather pouch Seki had dropped, mentally estimating the value inside. He raised an eyebrow as his calculations reached a large number, and stared at the girl 4 years his junior. Seki gave him an innocent face.

"I did some things, that's all."

"What things?"

"A bit of dancing."

"Dancing?"

"Yes, dancing. You got a problem about that?"

"Nothing, I just didn't realize you were willing to showcase your skills just yet."

"It was totally amateur moves, people in Konoha saw a few simple steps and were eating out of my hands. Wait till they watch the Jounin examinations."

"You are so confident of yourself, aren't you?"

"What's not to be confident about?" Seki grinned at her friend, and leaped out of the window. Tomiro stared after her, and sighed. He knew she was back on the roof top until Keimyou came home, and leaned back against the wall.

"I wish you'd just be honest with me, Seki Raion," Tomiro whispered to himself. Even though ordinary people would be convinced that they just had a normal conversation, Tomiro could already sense the tense aura radiating from Seki, right from the moment she shocked him out fo his concentration. Even her eyes, devoid of all emotion, were hard, proving to Tomiro that Seki had seen something, or was reminded of a certain painful memory.

But all his wonderings and thoughts were unheard by the girl on the roof top. Her black outfit, slowly blending into the surroundings as the sun set and painted shades of red in the sky and roofs of the houses in Konoha. Seki observed the scenery, taking in the beautiful picture of buildings that housed families and friends, with the Hokage mansion in the centre, and the engraved cliffs as a backdrop.

As the sounds of Keimyou returning to their room were heard from below, Seki stared blankly at the darkening sky, her memory of the scene earlier this morning pasted in front of her like a movie screen. She didn't know anything about it, but somehow, her unfeeling heart moved just a little at the sight of Gaara hugging another girl.

"Idiotic," Seki said to herself, a monotonous sound reaching her ears.

-

* * *

**A/N:** I think the most difficult was writing what Naruto said, because honestly, I'm not that happy-perky person he is. I hope he wasn't too OOC, and in case you're wondering, all characters are currently 17. Which means, everything, EVERYTHING is over. Yeah. As in, the manga storyline, so this is PURELY fiction.

I am not very satisfied with the end product of this chapter though. I hate rushing. -- I hope I can write better. Thanks to all those who reviewed! I was motivated. Haha.

-JE


	22. Open Up

**A/N:** Hello everyone! I am updating now because I will not be updating in a while. My schedule is quite packed for the next couple of months so I hope you will wait. At first, this chapter did not exist, but I decided to at least stop before I started to Jounin examinations otherwise you wouldn't be able to enjoy the fights I've written. I do love to write them. Haha.

Anyway, some of the major events will be a book writing competition I'm taking part in, I have to hand in the manuscript by 28 July. Not to mention a National Competition for my CCA on 13 July, and my major End Of Year exminations are going to start on 18 August. So really, I have no time to update until after my exams. I hope you guys understand!

Anyway on with chapter 22!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

"Thank you! Come back again, alright?"

Naruto nodded enthusiastically at the question, earning himself laughter from everyone in his company. Temari, Kankurou and Gaara soon parted ways with Naruto and Sakura, indulging themselves in a light chat as they made their way to the mansion they were provided to stay in. Courtesy of the Hokage, of course.

Kankurou was the first to hit the sack, proclaiming loudly, "Man, today was tiring!" before walking like a drunkard towards his room. Temari and Gaara raised on of their eyebrows simultaneously at the irony of his sentence. The former chuckled and turned towards her younger brother.

"Well, he must have done something to be so tired."

"Hn. I think he's up to something."

Temari grinned, she could never get over the fact that Gaara was now responding to their questions now. This time, she was so overcome with emotion she nearly forgot what she wanted to say. Gaara bade Temari good night before her brain finally clicked into place.

"Gaara, wait!"

The red head paused before the door to his room and looked back, curiosity forming on his face. Temari took only a second to hesitate, before blurting out, "I thought I saw Seki today."

"Me too."

Temari blinked, obviously surprised at the comeback.

"Uh, okay. Are you going to find her?"

"Why?"

This time, she was so surprised, Temari couldn't find the words to form a proper sentence. Gaara dropped his hand from the door knob, sighing.

"I don't know if it was her, and I don't know if I could stand relieving the memories."

"Bu-but... wh-when will yo-you-"

"Sorry," Gaara actually looked apologetic before disappearing behind his bedroom door, the lock clicking loudly in the sudden silence. Temari's forehead creased with worry; she knew how badly he had hurt because of Seki, but ignoring the problem would only make things worse. She wondered why he was so reluctant to see her again.

_Gaara, I wish you would open up just a little bit more._

-

Seki felt fatigue overwhelm her, but held strong and stood proud in front of Tomiro. She glanced down briefly at her outfit, frowning at the smudges that had formed from falling in the dirt.

"What's the matter? Can't continue?"

"Shut up, and get on with it."

Tomiro smirked, he could already hear her tired self speaking, and knew that he had to finish this soon. He, himself, was deadbeat, but more skilled at disguising his exhaustion. He might need to teach that to Seki, he knew some people, at the sight of their opponent losing stamina, would somehow take advantage of the fact.

"Last one."

Seki couldn't even reply a "Ready!" when a jet of water shot out from the lake in between them. She dove to the right, ducking from another jet of water and jumping away from the third one. This carried on continuously, Tomiro shooting weaving his jets of water so that Seki could train her speed. When the thirtieth jet of water shot at her while she was still mid air, Seki executed a perfect split and threw a kunai towards Tomiro. The shinobi dodged it, nodding slightly as he noted the strength and speed behind the kunai.

"Great! You're getting better at conserving your energy for attacks."

"I need to learn how to hide my fatigue," Seki ignored the compliment and walked over to Tomiro, panting slightly. The latter smiled sadly, picking off the kunai from the ground and returning it to its owner. As Seki bent down to place it in her weapons holster, a black string fell out from beneath her top, revealing a shuriken that had the string pulled through its center.

"What's that?" Tomiro reached for it, but Seki stood up so fast he only felt the material of her top. Flushing, he stammered an apology, hoping she wouldn't take offence. To his disappointment, Seki did not show a trace of emotion. She shrugged off the apologies, tucked the shuriken back into her top and turned away. She knew their training was done for today.

"Seki, wait!"

The kunoichi halted in her walk, waiting for Tomiro to catch up. Her friend from Takigakure ended up in front of her, and said nothing until she raised her head.

"What?"

"Why don't you tell me anything?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid. Haven't I been sincere enough? Why won't you at least show me you're human?" Tomiro bit his tongue at his last words, wondering if they were too harsh. Unfortunately, they had no effect on Seki as she just walked past him, brushing his arm so he could feel her cold skin, possibly as cold as her heart. He turned on his heel and yelled, "I'm your friend Seki, have you forgotten what it means?!"

"No, I haven't," Seki muttered to herself, never stopping her brisk walk until she was out of sight from Tomiro.

And then, she ran.

-

_Seki paced under the tree she had met Uchiha Sasuke three weeks before, impatience getting the best of her. Trying to find something to release the tension inside her body, she picked up several rocks and threw them in the air, flinging wind needles at them so that they broke into pieces. When she pierced the tenth rock, she saw ebony black hair in a distance._

"_Sasuke!"_

_She raced across the field, meeting him halfway. She grinned at him, receiving a smirk in return as each of them studied the other. Without any words between them, the two shinobis leaped into action, throwing kunais and shurikens, the clanging sound echoing in the air._

_When they finally exhausted themselves, Seki dropped on the ground beside Sasuke, listening to his ragged breathing and laughing breathlessly as she copied his actions. They lay quietly for a while, admiring the peaceful sky that was so unlike the day they met. For a moment, Seki forgot who she was, as well as her past. She closed her eyes and embraced the present tranquility._

"_Seki, I'm leaving."_

_Her eyes snapped open, sitting up and directing her red eyes that were suddenly filled with hate._

"_What?! Why?!"_

"_The guy I told you I was following? He's moving to another place. I need to follow him."_

"_Why? Can't you train on your own here? Can't you train with me?"_

"_I need him. He's the one who can make me stronger."_

"_Liar. You're just leaving because you can't stand me anymore. Fine, be that way!" Seki knew she was speaking nonsense, but her body moved automatically, stomping across the weeds as she tried to get away from the boy she seeked comfort in just a few days ago._

"_Seki."_

_His presence was so sudden and swift, Seki barely had time to register her shock when his hand grabbed hers firmly, but gently. She stopped, more willing than she revealed, and turned to look into those onyx eyes that had captivated her so._

"_You know you're being silly."_

"_I know, but I hate it. I hate the fact that every time I open up, I have to part with the ones I opened up to. Its like having a best friend who stabs you in the back over and over again."_

_Seki spluttered everything, showing her real emotion for once, because she knew Sasuke understood her more than Keimyou or Tomiro. She was tempted to drop her tears, but Sasuke grabbed her face and lifted it, staring so hard in her eyes she was sure they dried up because of the intensity._

"_I'm not stabbing you in the back. Don't be so weak, we both know we don't want either of us to be like that."_

"_I know. But what do you expect me to do?"_

"_Be strong, be yourself. You know you can do it. I know you can do it," Sasuke dropped his hands, smirking slightly at her. That playful smirk. Seki was going to miss that._

"_Here."_

_Seki looked down at his open palm, a scratched shuriken with a drop of dried up blood lay on his pale hand. She picked it up, feeling the smoothness that was unexpected of its appearance. Sasuke took it and poked it in her palm. Seki winced at the slight pain, and frowned as Sasuke did the same with his palm._

"_This shuriken looks old, battered and useless. But its as sharp as ever, and pierces the air faster than most. I got it from my brother, and I think you need it more than I do."_

"_Why?"_

"_To remind you of your power, your skill. You're a great kunoichi, Seki Raion. I'm hoping to hear about you in the future."_

"_What about you, how will I contact you?"_

"_You won't. We'll just have to wait and see."_

_Seki wasn't entirely satisfied with that, but placed on her mask again and smiled. As a master of disguises as well, Sasuke saw right through it._

"_Very convincing."_

"_You caused it."_

"_Its my honour."_

_Sasuke smirked, but his eyes revealed the emotion he currently felt. Seki's smile dropped and they stared into each other's eyes, red and black, until they couldn't hear the winds of the incoming storm, nor feel the tickle of the weeds at their calves. They couldn't see the dark clouds covering the sky, nor smell the scent of rain. They only saw each other, as well as themselves, reflected in the other party's pupils. They saw their future, as powerful shinobi._

_Seki gripped the shuriken tightly, before thrusting out her other hand._

"_Some might say you're a bad influence."_

"_Some might say you're as fake as rubber duck."_

_A laugh erupted from the depths of Seki as Sasuke accepted the handshake and they smiled from within their eyes._

"_Thank you."_

"_No problem."_

"_Egoistic jerk."_

"_Sissy perfectionist."_

_And with those as their parting words, both teenagers turned away and went back to their own villages, to their own so-called homes, to their lives._

_Pretending, training, improving._

_Hurting._

-

Seki opened her eyes at the sound of Keimyou opening the door under her. She had fallen asleep on the roof top again, and the scene of a lit Konoha greeted her red eyes. Seki reached inside her top and pulled out the shuriken, the smooth metal slightly warm from her body heat.

"How am I doing, Sasuke? Better than you expected I bet," Seki murmurred to herself. She pushed herself up, about to drop back into the room when a leaping figure caught the side of her eyes. She turned slightly, and saw a person jumping towards the Hokage mansion. Even though memories were blurred, whether it was her choice or not, Seki could recognise the leaping style anywhere.

"Gaara..."

-

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I hope this was okay for you guys. I know it seems like Sasuke is OOC but I will explain that in time. Please be patient.

I thank you for your understanding and I will see you guys in a couple of months time! Please review while I'm away!

-JE


	23. Approaching Danger

**A/N:** HELLO FANFICTION WORLD! I'M STILL ALIVE!

First: I'm extremely sorry to the little loyal readers that I have, I said I would be back in a couple of months but man oh man, time does fly! I just got back my results from the major exams I took, and honestly, I'm extremely disappointed with myself. It made me kind of depressed for a while, hence I had no mood to try and update.

Second: I actually wrote out a few chapters already, but after receiving some comments from my brother, as well as reading it over, I felt like it wasn't good enough, and a little digressing from my story plot. I'm caught up with Naruto Shipuuden and people giving me manga spoilers that I honestly don't know how to THINK anymore. As in, how can I (who sort of hate to change storylines which is why I tried to keep this fic according to the actual storyline) continue my fic when I realize the actual series is going a completely different way?! Its confusing and too much for me to handle.

Third: Hence, I decided, this will be what it is meant to be, FICTION OF FICTION. Means I will be completely doing it my own way, this is my own version, my own style, my own characters. I will do this story the way I want it to be, to the best of my abilities and hopefully, people will like it. Yay. I'm not that depressed anymore!

Fourth: I'm going to be introducing a lot of new OC, and because I can barely keep track of them, I'll take some time for my next few chapters. I'll be busy busy busy during these holidays but I SWEAR I will make time for my fic.

Fifth: Enjoy, review, give me comments but don't flame me because I decided I'm too weak to handle all those criticism. Just, word your opinions in a very very nice way. Haha.

-

* * *

**Hurting**

Naruto scanned through the last, but most important documents on the table. It was the list of Jounin finalists that had passed the individual assessments with the highest scores. He grinned at the impressive name list, happy with his decision.

A few months ago, the idea of an open Jounin examination was preposterous. No one believed the different villages would be willing to showcase what skills their shinobi would have, because as much as everyone would like to have peace between all villages, Naruto knew that having no clue what another village's shinobi could do was an edge people liked to have. In the end, it was all for the sake of security. To make sure, for example, village B wouldn't be able to plot tactics that could detriment the skills of the shinobis from village A.

However, within the short year of being Hokage, Naruto had made enough friends and allies. He managed to convince the elder council on his views that having an open Jounin examination would help bond the villages together, especially in the looming danger of the Akatsuki.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts and Naruto looked up to see Hinata standing in his doorway. He smiled at his friend, who responded with a similar, shy smile.

"Naruto, the Raikage has arrived, would you like to meet him?"

"Uncle Zehi? Of course! Hold on, I'll clear this up."

And as if on cue, Naruto spilled the stack of documents on the table, which landed neatly in Hinata's already oustretched arms.

"Its okay, Naruto. I'll help you put these away."

"Thanks a bunch Hinata! I owe you one!" Naruto shouted eagerly as he grabbed his Hokage cloak and sprinted out the door, missing Hinata's amused laughter behind him.

Yes, he was a responsible Hokage would had learned that paperwork was a part of his job. That didn't mean he would not miss a chance to slack off. He started to grin, but it faded away as his previous train of thought returned.

The Akatsuki had captured all but one Jinchuuriki since two years before, and although their attacks had been dangerous and fatal, Naruto had managed to elude them time and time again. He knew they were getting frustrated and impatient, it was obvious from the amount of damage they unleashed that only seemed to increase every time they tried to ambush Konohagakure. Names of the victims that had died protecting him starting to scroll through his brain, but he pushed the thought away. Right now, the important thing was to work well with the other villages.

The Akatsuki had known about Naruto's cooperation with the other villages, and attempted to threaten them instead of Konohagakure in order to bring him away from the protective haven that Konoha had become for him. Thankfully, not only were the villages able to withstand their onslaught, reinforcements had arrived quickly and their numbers were the main factors that drove the Akatsuki away. Naruto knew, it was not because they were afraid of losing so much as they were unwilling to waste so much time. The threat from them was always on his mind, and it would never go away unless they had something that could defeat them.

And it was that something that had prompted Naruto to suggest an open Jounin examination. Other than individual assessments that were routine from previous tests, a tournament similar to that of Chuunin examinations would showcase all the villages prowess and also provide a simulation of how shinobis from different villages could work together. It was not a competition, or an exhibition on who had the best shinobi, but rather a chance for the shinobis to know one another and their skills, exposing them to varied opponents rather than their own training partners.

Zehi, the new Raikage since a few years ago, had given Naruto his full support for the idea, as well as Gaara. The latter had even suggested individual assessments for shinobis who lived outside of villages, shinobis who had not qualified for Jounin nominations because they weren't given enough missions to complete. Naruto welcomed the idea, even though it was the first time he had heard of shinobis that lived outside of villages. Zehi was also warming up to the suggestion, and even allowed shinobis from his village, although already meeting the requirements of a Jounin according to Kumogakure's standards, to go through the individual assessments meant for the shinobis outside villages. Before long, many other villages, who trusted Naruto enough, agreed to let their shinobis take the individual assessment, as well as the tournament. Others who were not willing to deviate from their village traditions, respectfully declined.

Naruto arrived at the mansion he had allotted for Zehi and knocked on the door. A shinobi from Kumogakure opened the door, and invited the Hokage into the living room, while he went to wake the Raikage. Naruto tried to hide his chuckle, but failed, receiving a wry smile from the shinobi.

"Naruto! Thank you for this accomodation."

"My pleasure, uncle Zehi. You must have been tired from the trip, I can go if you want."

"Nonsense, I just needed a little nap," Zehi tried to assure Naruto, but as slow as the Hokage was, he could see the obvious dark rings under Zehi's eyes that could compete with Gaara's. He smiled good naturedly and refused the invitation from Zehi to tour the village with him. The tournament was in a couple of days, and he wouldn't want Zehi to look like a zombie.

"I have to find Gaara anyway, I'll meet you tomorrow when you're well rested."

The Raikage nodded tiredly, and turned to go back to his room. The shinobi trailed behind him, glancing back at Naruto with a gratified look, before the blond left the mansion on his own. Zehi was one of the few people outside Konoha and the Sand Siblings who trusted Naruto with their lives. Although he was more mature than the playful blond, both parties respected each other deeply.

"Speak of the devil," Naruto muttered as he spotted Gaara on the outskirts of the village, near the stadium that the tournament would be held. Flying over, Naruto landed beside his red-haired friend in a matter of seconds, slightly disappointed though, when Gaara didn't react. He shrugged inwardly, he could never surprise Gaara.

"Afternoon, idiot."

"Same to you, ice cube."

"Aren't you suppose to be confirming the list of Jounin finalists?"

"Already done, my friend. Its only 10 people. By the way, they are an impressive 10 people. We might have 10 new Jounins by the end of the week."

"That's quite a lot, I suppose."

"...What's wrong with you?"

Gaara blinked, shocked that Naruto could see through his passive expression. Naruto blinked himself too, taking back the words he said in his head a few moments ago. To the blond, it seemed pretty obvious Gaara was distracted. He now wondered what was the cause of his distraction.

"Nothing, I was just thinking."

"About?" Gaara smirked. _Blunt and straight to the point._

"The Akatsuki."

"What about them?" Naruto asked calmly, although his eyes had hardened significantly. Gaara didn't even have to look back to know, the painful memories from long ago had resurfaced in both their minds. He was guilty for making his friend suffer like this, but there were some things he just couldn't bring himself to share with his close friend.

"They've been pretty quiet the last few months. Not even a rumour from the other countries. I've already come up with an evacuation plan for my village."

Naruto nodded grimly, understanding Gaara's words. "Me too. We're on high alert most of the time, and we'll have every ANBU on patrol during the tournament, if they aren't at the other villages."

Silence covered the next few minutes. They didn't have to move or say anything, both leaders of their respective villages appreciated the other party's understanding and knew the comforting words were too shallow to express what they really felt. Soon, the sun had begun to set and both teenagers wordlessly started to make their way back into the village.

"I'm curious about something."

"You've been curious about everything since 2 years ago."

Smirks.

"I didn't bother finding out because I wasn't interested. But now I am. What did you guys do for the individual assessments?"

"Hm, I believe the first thing we made them do was find an object, or a person that was valuable to them in Practice Area #44. We wanted to see how fast they went with motivation. There were 26 who came back after 10 minutes."

"Practice Area #44?" Gaara echoed, slightly surprised at the choice of venue. He remembered the place well, it was in 'The Forest of Death' he had killed several Chuunins-to-be during his Chuunin examinations. Naruto read his surprise wrongly.

"What, you don't think that was hard do you? It was the first test, its suppose to be easy."

"No, I'm just wondering why you would want to re-use the place."

"Oh. Well, it hasn't been used for the last few Chuunin examinations, I didn't see why not."

Gaara nodded, looking back at Naruto's face just as he started to frown. Now it was Gaara's turn to misunderstand.

"Something wrong?"

"No, just remembering one of my reports."

"You remember your reports?"

"Shut up, it was a weird one. About one of the finalists."

"Why?" Gaara's interest was now piqued. Naruto seemed almost judgmental about the finalist, which, given his background and personality, was something that never happened.

"Well, when they first interviewed her, she said she didn't have anything, or anyone valuable to her."

"What happened then?"

"They took a shuriken around her neck, and she came back in 2 minutes."

-

"_Doton: Renpou no Meikyuu_!"

Seki listened to the sudden yelling of the audience, feeling the whole waiting room shiver as if there was an earthquake going on. Even without peeking through the door, she knew that something about the landscape outside had changed. She groaned inwardly.

_I was hoping they wouldn't do that_, Seki thought, sighing to herself and leaning against the cement wall beside her. She looked around, and her eyes landed on the other 4 Jounins-to-be. The 5 of them had been separated from the original 10 finalists, and placed in a waiting room under the stadium stands. For a while now, there had been no talking, as everyone waited with anticipation for instructions to be given. Seki took this time to observe her competitors.

One was from Konohagakure, the only one with his hiate-ate tied to his forehead. He looked like a young boy, probably a couple of years younger than Seki. He had jet black hair that swept to the back, with matching eyes which were usually glazed over as if he was in some deep thought. He sat crossed legged on the ground, with a simple brown shirt and shorts covering some bandages on both his legs, as well as a weapons pouch hanging from his shoulder like a sling bag.

Another boy stood beside him, and his face showed more mature features than the Konoha boy. Seki caught a glimpse of a weird symbol on his hiate-ate, and mentally labelled the boy as a member of Kumogakure. His body was covered in black leather, silvery lines crossing each other in some sort of pattern. He had a pair of shades placed on the top of his silver hair with black streaks, and his hands were covered with leather gloves. Even his weapons holster that was hanging on his hip was made of leather. Considering the land of his origin, Seki assumed he had lightning based chakra.

Moving on to the guy opposite her, red eyes landed on the symbol for Sunagakure that was engraved on his hiate-ate. The blond had had it pinned to his right pant leg, and wore a loose shirt on top. Had it not been for the circumstances, Seki would have thought he was a passer by that got lost. Unlike the previous shinobi from Kumogakure, the guy in front of her had the opposite look of complete concentration: boredom. Before Seki could wonder how he was going to fight however, she spotted a scroll tucked into the back pocket of his pants.

"Puppet master," the kunoichi whispered, the bored shinobi from Sunagakure moving his eyes to her. Seki avoided his gaze and looked over at the only other girl in the room that was peeking out of the door. She remembered how everyone's eyes had nearly popped out when she first saw the kunoichi, as the lightning boy was completely dressed in black with silver, this girl had her whole body covered in pink. Because the preliminary rounds had been individual assessment, Seki only saw her rivals before they were led to the stadium. She wondered if that girl's outfit was a representation of her personality, but the dead look in her matching pink contacts was an obvious 'no'. A pink tank top with a mini skirt, high boots that had glittery laces weaved in between. Her weapons holster on her right forearm was pink as well, with stickers in shapes of hearts and animals. Her red hair was tied in two pony tails behind her, using long pink ribbons that reached the ground. Her hiate-ate had the symbol of Kusagakure.

Seki had just finished her observations when a cloud of smoke appeared in front of her, a Jounin with pale lavender eyes and long brown hair stood before them, a proud aura emitting from his presence. The Konoha boy stood up in obvious respect, muttering with low baritone, not quite fitting his image, "Hyuuga," as he bowed low. The man nodded in acknowledgement

"Good afternoon. My name is Neji Hyuuga. Today is your final assessment for the Jounin's examinations. As you all know, a Jounin is intelligent as much as they are skilled. What you are going to do now is to pick a name from this bag I have here," Neji shook the grey bag in his hand,. "And you are going to be back up for that particular person. The judges will watch how you perform together to defeat your opponents, or individually if you choose not to call for your back up."

Seki reached out for the bag but was cut off by the taller black haired boy. She shot him a withering glare, but he just scoffed and looked at the piece of paper he held. Seki took the next piece and read the name '**KIROKU KASOU**' in her mind. _Who is this? Will he or she even call me?_ Seki watched everyone's actions. Except for the glazed eye boy, everyone seemed to be rather proud of themselves. Even Seki knew she wouldn't call for back up unless she was going to die. Wait, scratch that. Her ego wouldn't call for back up for _anything_.

"How will we call for our back up?" The rude boy asked after everyone had gotten a piece of paper. Neji took out a remote from somewhere beneath his garments; the remote was small, and had one red button on it. He pointed at a red bulb on top of the door, something Seki just noticed.

"By pressing this button, you will light up the red bulb here, and your back up will know that you need help. If you are being called, you are to enter the arena as well. Whether you listen to the person who called you however, is your own choice."

"So you mean, without knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, you want us to pair up and fight the other group?" The pink girl's voice contrasted both the brunette boys' voice, her high pitched question that sounded more cruel than cute echoed in the small room. Neji nodded and looked at each one of us sternly.

"Being a Jounin does not just mean your individual capabilities. You are a leader and a team mate. Plus, Jounins are usually grouped with other Jounins from all the shinobi countries for dangerous missions. How you work with others and how you stay alive is what the judges will be looking out for."

"Stay alive?" The tall brunette asked again.

"There will be a time limit of half an hour. To prevent any serious casualties."

"So we can just hide somewhere for half an hour?" The bored one finally spoke in a tired voice, leaving Seki the only one who hadn't made a sound. Neji narrowed his eyes at him, obviously disgusted at his lack of seriousness. The bored blond shrugged and looked away. Tense silence fell on them until Neji raised his hand to his temple, where a hands free head piece sat snugly on his forehead. Everyone, even the blond, looked at him, watching his unmoving face as he received word from someone outside of the room. When he nodded and put down his hand, Seki knew it was time. Neji took the remote and handed it to the bored shinobi.

"First up, Keishi Kakaru."

-

* * *

**A/N:** Was it too boring? Sorry, the fighting will come out later and in case you haven't noticed, Seki hasn't appeared directly because, well, I'm not planning for her to come out yet. It seems silly right? That the main character isn't out, but I promise she will be out... soon. Just bear with this because I kind of like the new OC I have and I want them to be more... deep, than shallow characters.

Plus, I have to admit I am a very... romance oriented kind of writer. Remember, this was my first fic, and its my first time writing so much action and history. Ah, what am I saying? I shouldn't be saying anything, YOU SHOULD. SO REVIEW THANKYOU VERY VERY VERY MUCH! SMILES!

**Doton: Renpou no Meikyuu** – Earth element: Maze of Mountain Range

**Zehi** – Without Fail (an extract from **zezehihi** which means Fair & Just)**  
Kiroku Kasou** – Pure, Good; Imagination  
**Keishi Kakaru** – Execution; To Be Trapped

-JE


	24. Adrenaline Rush

**A/N:** I decided to publish at least one chapter before the year is over. Thank you if you've been waiting, I'm sorry I took so long. I just really have been busy, and I wish I could make up for the lost time. But I can't. This chapter will be nearly twice as long as my normal chapters, so if you plan to read it all in one go, get into a comfy chair and grab a cup of coffee or something. A treat for reading my story. Chapter 24!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

"Temari, look! Keishi is first!" Kankurou nudged his older sibling's shoulder, something she found incredibly irritating, but did not yell at because she understood his excitement. When Kankurou saw Keishi's name on the nominal roll for the participants in the Jounin Examinations, the Sand siblings went to track him down and found out he had wanted to enter and pass the exam as a surprise for Kankurou, for helping him in his training. Temari grinned at that. She never imagined Kankurou would be such a good teacher, let alone a favorite one.

"I wonder if Gaara is watching?"

"What else would he do?" Temari said sarcastically, and chuckled as Kankurou fumed in her face, but could do nothing, not with her iron fan sitting right beside her. The blond kunoichi automatically looked to her right, where Naruto, Gaara and Zehi, the Raikage, sat at the high pedestal, chatting away. She smiled at the sight, thankful that the new Raikage was not corrupt as his predecessors.

"Oh, look. His opponent is someone from the Grass Country."

"Ladies and gentlemen! The first match between Keishi Kakaru and Jurei Yuurin, start!" The emcee leaped away as the gun sounded, and Temari turned to look at the participants fight, just as the Kages stopped their conversation to view the battle below.

Kankurou watched Keishi's eyes harden, although the rest of his features remained still. No one, except those who knew him, could see past his bored exterior. Even now, he was willing to bet that more than half the audience was wondering why he wasn't moving from his position in front of the door he came out from. He smirked.

_This is the strength of Sunagakure._

-

A long string of green shot towards the motionless boy, its speed so fast majority of the audience that were made up of common folk could not see anything until after it pierced Keishi's body. The echo of shock was short lived however, as there was no blood or scream. Instead, Keishi's body seemed to fade into the air. The crowd fell silent, already on the edge of their seats.

Jurei slowly retracted his ivy, glancing to his sides and leaping onto one of the hills. Observing his surroundings, he was slightly impressed at the huge change of terrain. Just yesterday, all he had seen was a plain field of grass and sand. Today, the whole area was filled with narrow pillars of rock, such as the one he stood on now. He touched the sleeve of his dark green jacket lightly, preparing to attack at the slightest movement. His matching green hair shuddered in the breeze, and flew back as Jurei swung to on side and shot out his ivy again.

Several metres away, Keishi paused on a similar rocky pillar, watching the ivy miss him by just a hair, mentally noting how dangerous it was for him as the ivy was dotted with thorns as thick as his foot.

"Interesting. I've never seen someone as fast as you."

Keishi looked up at Jurei, a bored expression painted on his face. But Jurei was sharp, and he could see that, despite his body language, both hands in pockets, hunched back and yawning, that practically yelled laziness, Keishi's brown eyes were hard and concentrated. Jurei smirked.

"You can see as far as I can," Keishi stated. Indeed, both parties were about 10 rock pillars away, yet both boys were aware of every single movement the other made. Jurei shook his head slightly, his face amused, but not in a bad way.

"Actually I can't. I feel for you."

"Feel?" Keishi raised an eyebrow and moved to squat down when he felt something hard on his right foot. Looking down, his eyes widened in horror at the sudden appearance of a creeper crawling up his legs at an extreme growth rate.

"My Juusatsu Tsuta not only pierces, it flings its seeds around the area I battle, and I can sense everything those seeds touch."

Keishi struggled against the ivy's grip, his face finally contorting into a frustrated emotion.

"What are you?!" He yelled, his hands now immobilized by the ivy. Keishi sat on his pillar, smiling innocently at his opponent.

"I'm a human, with a bloodline limit that connects my sense with that of my ivy," Jurei raised his hand, and the same ivy rose out of his sleeve, thorns slowly potruding the stem. He aimed it straight at Keishi, whose entire upper body was now covered in leafy creepers.

"Its sad, I thought you would be more of a challenge," Jurei mused, and sent his ivy straight towards Keishi's trapped figure, just as the creepers covered the top of his head. Thorns pierced the cocoon, and a yell erupted, followed by a huge explosion that threw Jurei's ivy into the air, creating a rain of leaves and wood splinters.

Jurei blinked and quickly stood up. _Wood splinters?_

"Sorry, I guess I'm more of an obstacle."

-

Kankurou cheered as he saw Jurei turn around and meet Keishi standing on another stone pillar, this time his hands were out of his pockets and holding the scroll that was originally in his back pocket.

Temari tapped her brother, "What's going on?"

Kankurou smiled smugly at her, blurting out, "Keishi's a puppet prodigy!"

"Eh?" Temari's look was a look of disbelief, for she did not even believe there was such a thing. Fortunately, Kankurou read it as ignorant, and went on to explain to her.

"Keishi was a distant relative of old Chiyo. He had her genes of puppet mastery and is skilled at creating his own puppets as well as controlling them. He made his first one when he was four!"

"I still don't get what happened."

"Man, you're slow Temari. Keishi's seventeen now, he's been making puppets for thirteen years! He has so many for so many uses, its no wonder he's such a lazy prat. He reminds me of that Shik- that smart aleck, except Keishi's much more useful in a battle."

"Kankurou, I'm fine with you saying his name," the blond assured her brother, who still looked at her carefully before continuing.

"Alright. Anyway, just now, Keishi wasn't part of that explosion. I don't know where he is now, but he's extremely good at making his puppets look just like him, and keeps them all in that scroll of his," Kankurou pointed at the scroll that Keishi was now rolling up in his hands. Kankurou patted his laps in excitement, "Even I don't know if its really him standing there, I just know that Keishi may look bored, but he's analysing every move his opponent does, because once he goes into hiding, he can't really see what's going on."

"I thought he could see far."

"That's his far-sighted puppet, he places mirrors inside the face so that he can even see something behind him. Isn't he a genius? I just love that kid!"

"Indeed," Temari whistled. Kankurou turned back to cheer Keishi on, and she grinned again.

_Kankurou, I've just seen another side of you_, she thought proudly. It pleased her to see that other than responsibility, Kankurou had learned how to think for others. She knew with that much attention that was given to Keishi, the same amount of care and concern was there too. She turned her head and took a glance at Gaara, staring expressionless at the fight.

_Gaara, your brother has felt love. When are you going to?_

Temari stared at the pale face of the previous vessel for the Shukaku for a few more seconds, before diverting her attention back to the fight below.

-

Jurei cursed under his breath as he felt a drop of sweat roll down his cheek. He made a jump to a pillar more than a few metres away, which was impossible for most shinobis, but not for Jurei. With the help of the ivy, he caught onto his target pillar and pulled himself over, swinging the other arm towards Keishi.

Or some sort of Keishi puppet. Jurei knew not to look down on puppet welders, as he was in the field with a risk of getting hurt while this Keishi person was hiding somewhere, controlling his puppets to do his dirty work. To Jurei, it seemed cowardly, yet intelligent. But the Grass shinobi needed to bring him out, in order to even the footing. Every time he destroyed a puppet, the next would appear closer than the last. Sooner or later, he was going to be cornered.

"Are you boy or a girl? Can't you come out and fight instead of letting your toys do it for you?" Jurei yelled, swinging his ivy at another 'Keishi' and watching it break into a million pieces of wood and tools. He crouched down, his eyes wandering round for the next appearance of his opponent.

"What makes you think I don't come out?" Jurei nearly jumped had shinobi training not taught him to expect the unexpected. Keishi's voice seemed too close, and ivy welder leaped a few pillars away before he calmed down to look at his opponent.

Keishi was standing, looking very relaxed, on a couple of pillars away from Jurei's original pillar, hands in his pockets again. After a few seconds of stunned silence, Keishi stuck out his foot, as if to step onto air, when he disappeared and reappeared on another pillar closer to Jurei. The latter's green eyes widened as he finally the real reason he could not catch Keishi.

"I just move too fast for you to see, green one. You think I like biting my thumb to call out my puppets? So far, you've only destroyed two, and those two are chained to my chakra, allowing me to connect them back any time I want. So actually, you've destroyed none."

Keishi looked back at Jurei through lidded eyes, but inside his heart was thumping with nervousness. He knew exposing his tactic would be dangerous, but he wasn't done yet, and personally, he was really getting bored of the routine running and disappearing method. He wanted to see what this Jurei, green person could do. He knew bloodline limits were powerful, but unless Jurei did something spectacular, he was not going to like participating in this fight at all.

_I still want to call out my back up_, Keishi thought to himself, all the while watching Jurei's still body crouching down. He could almost see the gears work in his brain and nearly let himself smile when shinobi from Kusagakure stood up.

_Now, the real fight begins._

"Alright, puppet boy. Looks like I've underestimated you. You deserve something better than my pathetic little ivy. You deserve a garden," his voice trembling with immense thrill, Jurei felt happy at getting such a worthy opponent. Fast speed with expert puppet welding techniques. He was in for a ride.

"Keishi, I hope you've got your puppet scroll ready, because what I'm going to do next might just require every one of your puppets."

The Suna shinobi finally smirked.

"Bring it on, flower boy."

-

Seki felt the room shake again. She placed her hand on the walls for support, eyebrows knitting together in worry.

According to the clock on the wall opposite her, 15 minutes had passed by. It didn't seem like an easy task, and Keishi had not called for his back up – whoever it was.

"Oh, look," just as that thought appeared in Seki's head, the red bulb lit up. The girl in pink, who was the one who spoke, stood up, brushing off the dust on her outfit, before she pushed open the door and disappeared behind it. A booming voice outside announced, "Hana Taikou has entered the arena!"

Through the holes in the door, Seki peered out and was greeted with shades of green and a distinct smell of grass and ivy. Her nose twitched at the strong scent and she back away from the door, suddenly restless and wanting to get out in the field herself.

Outside, Hana wasn't as excited as she saw a large number of vines, creepers and ivy sprouting from beneath various pillars. Before she could even take in the terrain, she was pulled to the side by Keishi, who was hiding behind the pillar closest to the door.

"What's your skill?"

"Opposite of his," Hana stated. Keishi waved his hands, pressing her for more information that she seemed reluctant to divulge. Hana sighed.

"I used flowers instead of leaves."

"Okay, I use puppets. What can we do?"

"Can they contain my flowers?" Keishi nodded and used his chakra to pull one back. When he opened the stomach of a 'Keishi' puppet, Hana placed three grains of pollen inside, and closed the stomach. When Keishi was about to ask why there were only three, Hana pushed her index finger against his lips, silencing him.

"Get these pollens within a 50 metre radius of Jurei and explode your puppet."

"Explode them?"

"Yes, and then I'll take it from there," Hana finished and disappeared into the ground, leaving Keishi to gape at the hole she left behind.

_Great, I get a flower to fight a leaf_.

-

"Wow, that's some bloodline limit," Naruto breathed at the area the colour green was covering. Jurei stood at one end, trying to find his opponents while his plants waved in the air. Zehi chuckled and nodded, "Yes, it is amazing," the Raikage had heard for a long time, the unknown yet poweful skills of the shinobi from the Grass Country, but it was a different thing watching one in action. Jurei no longer appeared like the teenaged boy he was, instead he looked almost part of the vines itself, his skin was slightly green and his entire body seeming to be the trunk where the mass of vines were borne.

"I wonder if he feels weird feeling things that he can't see?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto turned to his red head friend.

"He said his seeds feel around for him, how does he differentiate the different senses?"

"Well, that only shows how confident he is in using such a complex skill," Zehi concluded, although inside he was impressed at Gaara's thought process. Although he had heard of his intelligence and skills as a Kazekage, the Raikage was meeting him for the first time, and he still could not digest the fact he, as well as Naruto, was only 17.

"Huh? What complex skill? Gaara, what are you talking about?"

"Never mind."

"Hey, I was asking a question!"

"A stupid one, apparently."

"What? I don't know what you guys were talking about, is that wrong?!"

"Its not wrong, its slow."

Zehi laughed at the sight before him. Being a man close to 30, he missed the carefree times he had as a teenager, which were far and few, since during then, Kumogakure was still under the previous Raikage's rule. Although he had been here for more than a week, he was still surprised at these young teenagers, barely on the brink of adulthood, yet their capabilities were nothing to be underestimated. Gaara of course, was the infamous Jinchuuriki

"I wonder what Tsunade was doing when she named you Hokage."

"She was being wise and smart about it!"

"Yeah, right."

Zehi's smile faded despite himself. He could still remember the first time he met Tsunade, he did not know her well, but he was inspired by the caring spirit she showed for Konohagakure. Everything she talked about, even though she was rough and rude, underlining her words were always concern for the village she was once in charge of. It was through her help, Zehi managed to be sitting here today as Raikage.

"Idiot."

"Cold!"

"Dense."

"Heartless!"

"Tortise."

"SHU- Eh?"

"Slow."

-

Jurei eyed Keishi leaping over and under the creepers, dodging the vines' attacks and the thorns. He was unsure what he would do with Hana's help, but told himself to be prepared for anything plant related. After all, Hana was once his training partner.

"Hey, Jurei!" Jurei's eyes widened as he realized Keishi had managed to get right beside him within two seconds. He tried to retract his vine but was stopped when Keishi grabbed his arm and and vine in a steel hard grip. Jurei winced, because any injury to his plants was an injury to himself. Keishi smiled at that and his stomach opened before him. Jurei quickly dug into his pockets with his other arm and pressed the button on his remote.

The next thing Keishi heard from his hiding place, was a loud bang.

-

"Niji Kujaku has entered the arena!"

Niji stepped out and paused, shock registering into his system as he observed the scene before him. Green vines, creepers and leaves covered the rocky he had heard being formed nearly half an hour ago, and dust was floating over one of the rocky pillars to his left. He headed towards it, watching as a huge dark green cocoon appeared in his view. Surrounding it were three identical girls dressed in pink, suspended in the air like floating clouds.

Niji arrived at the base of the pillar and looked up, realizing the pink girls, whom he assumed were apparitions of Hana Taikou, were balancing themselves on pink flower petals. He sniffed the air and cringed as he smelled the burning leaves. A scent of dried blood reached his sensitive nose as well, and thinking fast, he closed his eyes and prepared his jutsu.

Hana squinted at the bundle of leaves, recognizing the hard barrier Jurei often used when he had too little chakra. She knew her explosive pollen had damaged him, so it was only a matter of time before he came out. He might recover enough chakra to fight back, but the injuries inflicted by her pollen was permanent and only she had the medication to heal it.

Keishi directed a puppet towards Hana, who raised her eyebrow as it tried to speak to one of her flower clones.

"Hey, puppet boy, over here."

The Keishi puppet looked at Hana and leaped over, showing no embarrassment at talking to the fake Hana. He had just opened his mouth when Hana saw the cocoon disappear before her. Her mouth dropped. Jurei had never done this before! She swung her head wildly, wondering where he could've transported his cocoon so quickly.

"Hey! What's going on?"

"Idiot, the cocoon's disappeared! Can you see where it has gone?"

"What are you talking about? It's still there!"

"What?" Hana looked at the vacant pillar and back at the puppet which was projecting Keishi's voice.

"How can you see when you're not really here?"

"I'm only a couple of pillars away and I see the cocoon just fine. I wanted to ask you what you wanted to do next."

Hana frowned and moved forward to touch the empty space. Her hand connected with nothing but air and she bit her tongue to repress her automatic retorts. She knew Jurei called in his back up last minute, but she didn't see him or her enter. She was too busy concentrating on exploding the pollen.

"Why are you just waving your arm around?"

"I'm trying to touch the cocoon, if its still there as you say," Hana tried to reply with as little irritation in her voice as possible. Keishi clicked his tongue at the tone and leaped upwards on to a pillar for a closer look. Hana stared back at him, silently demanding an explanation as her arm continued to grasp for something she couldn't see. Keishi wanted to slap her, but he knew the answer was more obvious to him than to her.

"You idiot! You're caught in a genjutsu!"

-

Seki felt the room walls, concentrating on the grainy texture instead of her desire to move. She was sitting down now, crossed legged as she heard the sound of frustrated voices and felt the tremors from before fade away. She closed her eyes, trying to relax, but was interrupted by a soft snort.

"What?" Seki snapped at the boy from Kumogakure, knowing it was irrational to be so annoyed by him, but letting her mouth do it anyway. The silver haired boy only smirked at her, and moved to stand on his own feet instead of leaning on the wall.

"Nothing. Just wondering how you got here."

"Same way you did."

"Not really. Everyone's individual assessment was different. And looking at you, I wonder if you got off easy."

Seki looked at herself, frowning. Appearance wise, the bored Konoha boy and Keishi would have been assumed to have 'gotten off easy', not her. She wondered if the teen before her was just trying to pick a fight. Maybe he was as restless as she was, but Seki was still in no mood to make friends, so she raised a skeptical eyebrow, and looked away.

"I'm Raku. Raku Shinkan."

"Nice to meet you," Seki replied, frostiness coating every word. Raku sighed in resignation, something that seemed weird coming from such an arrogant bastard like him that Seki had to look back.

In that fraction of a second Seki turned her head, Raku had moved to the front of her face, causing Seki to react instinctively, a hand shooting from her weapons holster. Kunai against kunai, Seki grunted in irritation while Raku grinned back, seeming to enjoy her reaction. Seki looked at his eyes, grey and glittering in the dim light.

She was right, he was restless.

Composing her features, she decided not to give him the satisfaction that she could not get. Putting just a minute bit more power into her push, she threw Raku to the other wall. She repressed a laugh at his surprised look, glad that at least this tiny bit of action had taken her mind off the battle outside. All this time, the Konoha boy sat on the ground, staring into space.

-

Jurei blinked at the sudden muteness of his environment. He opened his cocoon and saw Hana saying something to Keishi, who was only a little bit further away. However, no sound came from her voice. He retracted his cocoon fully and looked around until he saw the reason.

"Niji Kujaku. I'm a genjutsu user. I can see you have an affinity with leaves."

Jurei smirked and took a glance at his opponents before pulling back all his vines and creepers. His so-called back up was dressed exactly as his namesake: a striped shirt with every colour of the rainbow and a pair of matching pants. His hair however, was a dull brown and his eyes shimmered in the sun with the same colour. He had no weapons holster or scrolls to indicate he was a skilled shinobi, but Jurei was in no position to argue with that fact.

"What's going on?"

"I casted a genjutsu to make your cocoon seemingly disappear to that girl, Hana, over there. This genjutsu also protects us both from being seen, heard or touched, so we're safe for a while."

"A while?"

"Unfortunately, I don't have much of a range, so I only managed to trap Hana, not Keishi. It seems she's finding out that fact too, the way their conversation seems to be going. Why are there two of him, by the way? And three of her?"

"He uses puppets that looks like him, and she uses flower petals to make clones of herself. In terms of numbers we're pretty screwed."

"But we're quite compatible. Your skills seem to be able to cover the whole arena."

"I guess we could work something out. What else can you do."

"Oh, much, much, more," Niji mused, chuckling to himself until a muffled boom made him wince. Jurei looked up and realized Keishi had made his puppets shoot explosive tags onto the genjutsu barrier that was protecting them both.

"What's the name of your genjutsu called?" Jurei asked as he moved closer to Niji. A plan was already formulating in his mind and Niji smiled as he watched his partner's eyes. Jurei had an idea, and Niji was ready to win with him.

"_Meimei Fuhai_."

-

"Look out!" Keishi yelled as he and Hana leaped away from the sudden protruding vines.

Hana mentally cursed herself again, for not thinking that she was trapped in a genjutsu. She had trained with Jurei long enough to know he had no skills that could render him invisible or transport his heavy cocoon so fast she couldn't see it with her naked eye. Commanding her clones using chakra alone, she made them fly forward and attack Jurei, who was now visible with the genjutsu over him.

"He's still injured because of my pollen! We can beat him!" Hana called over to Keishi, who was summoning two more puppets from his scroll.

"He called out his back up, where is he?"

"No clue, let's just concentrate on Jurei and draw the other one out!"

"Alright! Listen, let's do this..." Hana listened to the plan as her eyes trained on the whipping vines and creepers. The thorns slashed her clones pretty badly, but she managed to cover their wounds with more petals laced with her chakra. Once Keishi finished explaining his plan, Hana had to change her opinion of the seemingly lazy puppeteer. It was an interesting plan one would not expect from someone with his looks.

"Alright, puppet boy. On your signal then."

"Right. Let's get this over and done with," Keishi responded and flew forwards with his puppets behind him in an arrow formation. Carefully making sure he didn't land on any thorns, Keishi used the vines as a boost to jump into the air above Jurei, his puppets imitating him until they formed a 5-man circle on top of Jurei. Swinging his body, Keishi forced himself and his puppets to spin until they formed a blur halo. Jurei watched it apprehensively, and quickly retracted his vines to attack the puppets.

Hana was one step ahead. She made sure Jurei was distracted by the halo before she flung her petals to all his vines. Keishi told her to use her experience training with him to good use, so she knew exactly how many vines Jurei could produce. Using her chakra to solidify her petals so that they were hard and long, Hana pinned down the large vines and sliced the creepers before sprinting towards Jurei.

Keishi pulled away from the halo at the same time, transforming his puppets into a steel rope that he could whip and tie around Jurei. The latter glared at him fiercely when he realized what Hana and Keishi had done.

"Distract and destroy," Keishi muttered, pulling his arm back while Hana pulled out more of her pollen. Jurei looked from Hana to Keishi, and back to Hana before turning his glare into a smirk.

"Hook, line and sinker," Jurei said, loud enough for both of them to hear. The two had no time to react as a rainbow dressed boy casted his genjutsu from behind Jurei.

"_Shikisai no Yume_."

-

The audience was stunned into silence as they watched Keishi and Hana freeze mid air of their attacks and began twisting and turning in the air. Jurei, with obvious difficulty and pain, pulled out his vines from Hana's flower petals and transformed back into a normal looking boy while Niji held his jutsu for Jurei to recover. A brief exchange later, Niji released Hana from her genjutsu, who fell into Jurei's chokehold, a kunai at her throat. The girl frowned, but gave in. When the emcee jounin came back into the center of the arena, Jurei was applying a cream on his injuries from the pollen explosion.

"Winners of the match: Jurei Yuurin and Niji Kujaku!"

-

Kankurou's face froze in a look of anguish, staring as his favorite pupil was led to a different entrance from the one he entered with his back up. He was mature enough to know that trying to blame external factors, his back up's lack of brains or even the fact Jurei had a bloodline limit, was useless. Still, Temari could see he was disappointed at the result and patted his back comfortingly.

"I'm sure he did well in his individual assessment. That's why he's here, right? Anyway, don't they always judge the way he handled his opponents, not the results?" Temari reminded her brother, making him recall a certain brown haired Konoha Jounin who was the first one in his age group to be promoted to Chuunin. Kankurou tried to smile, but the bleak grin he gave wasn't comforting.

It didn't matter though, because the next moment, both Kankurou and Temari's smiles froze.

"Second match between Houseki Raion and Kiiro Tonbo, start!"

-

* * *

**A/N:** Like I said, this is very much longer than my normal chapters, just to thank my readers since last year for sticking with me, and giving me positive comments. I am motivated by them, just my time management has not improved and I struggle to juggle my work all the time. I will have less time to update now, so I hope you guys can be temporarily satisfied with this.

Any comments please review because I do need constructive criticism. Don't flame, just advise. I'm too tired to extinguish them. Thank you. I hope this was a good chapter, the last one of 2008. Have a happy new year everyone!

**Juusatsu Tsuta** – Death by Shooting Ivy**  
Meimei Fuhai** – Invisible Invincibility**  
Shikisai no Yume** – Dream of Colours

**Jurei Yuurin** – Long Life; Deep Forest**  
Hana Taikou** – Flower; Light Pink**  
Niji Kujaku** – Rainbow; Peacock**  
Raku Shinkan** – Comfort; Silence**  
Kiiro Tonbo** – Yellow; Dragonfly

-JE


	25. Perceptions

**A/N:** I can't be bothered to explain myself. I must be fanfiction's biggest procrastinator. If you are reading this for the first time, please don't expect me to update very fast. If you are reading this from last year, or even two years ago, I salute your patience and I hope this is enough to pay back for my horrible timing.

6 months plus since I updated. Enjoy chapter 25!

-

* * *

**Hurting**

Seki leaped into the air and stretched her arms and legs, watching for her opponents movements as she did so. A long haired boy mimicked her actions, and allowed Seki to quickly assess her threat.

Kiiro, like his name wore yellow all over. Even his face seemed to glow yellow and the only contrasting colours were his dark blue hair and matching eyes. He wore something like a diver's suit with a weapons pouch strapped to his waist. From her view, Seki couldn't see his back, but she noticed twin metal rods sticking out behind him.

Not one to make rash decisions, Seki moved forward quickly, switching places to seem intimidating when all she wanted was Kiiro to make the first move. She was intelligent, and had learned to use it to her advantage during a battle. It wasn't the same during her individual assessment, where time had been a factor, so Seki was glad she had a full hour to showcase her abilities both physically and psychologically.

Kiiro narrowed his eyes and swiftly dug out two kunai and shurikens each, flinging them in Seki's direction. Unlike the friendly banter the previous pair of Jounin wannabes had shared, Seki and Kiiro didn't seem to want to talk at all, letting their body and actions explain to each other how much they wanted to be promoted.

The audience began to mutter among themselves. Kiiro Tonbo, from Kumogakure and Seki from Takigakure, were both unknown to the majority of the mass of people present. Simply fighting each other with the use of normal shinobi weapons was not interesting at all, yet it was human nature to be curious about the two. Seki, fully black except for the orange on her pant leg and hair moved in a blur, so quickly the audience only knew where she was after she had leaped onto another pillar. Kiiro on the other hand, didn't move much from his position at all, simply reacting to whenever Seki appeared near him as fast as he could.

Seki soon realized he had thought of the same thing she thought of. Neither were willing to show their skills yet, preferring to assess the other before choosing a strategy. Seki couldn't help but smirk at the thought and paused on a pillar directly in front of Kiiro, causing the boy to stop his flinging as well. He raised an eyebrow at his opponent, and lowered his hands.

"You know, doing this is not going to get us promoted."

"And yet here I stand, staring at you," Kiiro replied Seki in a sarcastic tone, but his eyes proved that he meant no offense. Seki smiled slightly at his hidden friendliness and cocked her head to the side.

"Let's make a bet."

"What?"

"Whoever gives up first, pays for dinner tonight."

"Are you asking me out?"

"I thought you were more perceptive than that."

Kiiro let out a burst of laughter, a sincere smile reaching his eyes. _This is interesting_, Kiiro thought to himself. Had he been training too hard and not realized his own charm? He pretended to consider her offer, while Seki waited patiently in front of him.

"Alright, you got yourself a deal."

"On the count of three, we fight."

"Show me something worth watching, ponytail."

"Oh, trust me I will," a mischievous grin pulled the sides of Seki's lips and she crouched into a feline-like position. Kiiro smirked at her pose, wondering if this was part of her flirt and prepared himself as well.

"One-"

"Two-"

"Three!"

-

"It _is_ Seki!" Temari shouted excitedly, ignoring the irritated stares from the audience around her. Kankurou remained silent, mouth agape as he watched her body fly around the stadium arena. The atmosphere surrounding her opponent and her had changed significantly; kunais and shurikens were being thrown at each other with more ferocity and eagerness than before, all signs of wariness disappeared after Seki's proposal. It seemed like the two of them were enjoying themselves, and that disturbed Kankurou a little. He looked up at the topmost circle seats where the Kages sat, and frowned at it.

"Kankurou, _where_ are you looking?! Can't you see her? Don't you rem-"

"I remember her clearly, Temari. I'm just wondering if someone else does."

Temari followed her brother's gaze at where Naruto was sitting, the latter chatting enthusiastically with the Raikage as his hands gestured wildly towards the fighting shinobis below.

Gaara's chair was empty.

-

Seki counted down thirty seconds as she deflected Kiiro's shurikens with her kunais. She noted the increase in strength and speed behind them, inwardly glad she had made that bet. Flirting wasn't exactly her original plan, but after watching his eyes take in her figure, she decided to take advantage of his desires. Hopefully, she was right about them and he would fall for the bait she would put out later.

_Stupid, have more confidence. He _will_ fall for it_, Seki thought fiercely and ended her count down as she landed on a stone pillar nearest to the walls of the arena. Kiiro was currently leaping towards her and she pretended to hesitate in the direction she would go.

"What's the matter? Trapped already?" Kiiro yelled from a distance, taking out five shurikens at once and flinging it swiftly in her direction. Seki stared straight at Kiiro with a scared expression, and for a moment, the boy was disappointed at all that hot air she let out earlier.

"As if."

Her words were quiet, lethal. Kiiro thanked himself for not blinking as he saw Seki's face change into a smirk. Her body turned 180 degrees and she jumped, feet making contact with the wall and running up the side before flipping over. Kiiro barely had time to admire her lithe body twisting in mid-air as she sent a growing typhoon spiraling towards him.

"_Futon: Rensei Taifuu_!"

Rocks split and crumbled in the path of the typhoon, flinging debris into the audience. The yelps of the audience sitting nearest to the wall didn't distract Seki as she landed on a rock pillar and controlled the typhoon around the rocky terrain.

"Shit, I can't see anything," Seki muttered to herself and decreased the size of the typhoon. Several objects that were sucked in from the audience now dropped to the ground and Seki ignored the cries of protest, concentrating on her senses for Kiiro's chakra.

"Looking for me?"

Seki's head flicked upwards, her eyes seeing a yellow body riding the typhoon with ease, thanks to a pair of metal wings. Seki, feeling annoyed, clicked her tongue, realizing she was well matched in this situation. Kiiro circled the typhoon one last time before using the wind to boost himself towards Seki.

"Don't underestimate me!" Seki yelled as she brought her typhoon closer to herself, and shifted her hands that controlled her chakra in the typhoon. Kiiro looked behind and widened his eyes as the typhoon seemed to tip itself sideways, its end drilling towards him. Kiiro swerved in the air and tried to form some hand seals, Seki chasing him with her typhoon as he did so.

"_Suihou no justu_!"

Seki would've cursed as her sharp eyes watched Kiiro form a protective bubble around himself just as the typhoon made contact. She released her jutsu and recalculated her options, knowing now that Kiiro possessed water-nature chakra. Her mind whirled in the matter of seconds that Kiiro took to fall to the ground, his water bubble of air splashing on the ground and his wings retracted. Kiiro reached over his shoulder and expertly spun his poles that his wings were kept in as Seki jumped to the ground.

"How are you with taijutsu?"

Without waiting for a reply, Kiiro fought Seki pole-hand, both of them intensely strong and unable to break the other's defence. The audience were on the edge of their seats, some were already shouting for the one they were rooting for. Seki performed numerous leaps, using the rock pillars to her advantage to get behind Kiiro.

Unfortunately, Kiiro had his own skillls that were enough to counter Seki's moves. His poles released and retracted his wings at Kiiro's will, occasionally swinging within a hair's breadth away from Seki's face. Seki utilized every bit of her dance experience in avoiding his attacks, and soon it became obvious that Kiiro was gaining the upper hand.

"Hey, it ain't fun when you start running away!" Kiiro exclaimed as Seki sprinted away the next time Kiiro tried to release his wings at her face. Flitting in between the rock pillars, Seki was barely visible without her speed. Kiiro suppressed a curse and released his wings, swinging it onto his back and lifting off the ground, all done in a short three seconds. Following the wind, he flew above the rock pillars and spotted the brown-and-orange haired girl, diving quickly until he landed gracefully in front of her.

"Who said I was running away?" Seki panted slightly, hands pulling out a kunai to deflect Kiiro's pole. Kiiro chuckled and continued fighting hand to hand with Seki as her exhaustion became more and more obvious. It was about 10 minutes before time was up that Seki finally collapsed to the ground against a rock pillar and shook her head.

"I'm done."

Kiiro stopped in his movements and looked incredulously at her.

"What?"

"I can't go on. I'm too tired."

"You're joking, right?" Kiiro questioned, only to receive a tired look from his opponent. He threw his arms in the air in exasperation. _This is the jounin examinations! How did she get through!?_ Kiiro's thoughts raged as he frowned, his eyes forming a look of disgust at the failure before him. Seki pouted at his stare, standing up slowly while maintaing eye contact.

"You're pathetic."

"But you like pathetic, don't you?"

Kiiro's mouth fell open in confusion as Seki leaned on the pillar and traced the outline of her figure. The boy knew this was probably a trick, but he had to admit that Seki had a good body. He pretended to be disinterested in her until one of her hands gently cupped his face. The shock of their contact made him drop his pole, but Seki didn't reach for it and moved backwards instead. By instinct, Kiiro reached for her, then seeing her laughing face, flushed at his own weakness. He was still looking at Seki when he felt his arms grabbed by an iron-grip and twisted behind his back.

"Oh, and I **am** joking," Seki whispered into Kiiro's ear. Kiiro turned his head in shock, and met the pointed edge of a kunai. Turning back in confusion, he watched 'Seki' fade away into the wind. He listened to the cheers erupting from a particular section of the audience and gritted his teeth.

"Fine, you win."

Seki raised an eyebrow as their referee descended in front of them. Kiiro glared at the expressionless shinobi who was examining their situation, before raising his arm to announce the results.

"Wait!" Seki shouted, stopping the referee as he was raising his arm. Kiiro suddenly felt a hand on his lower back, moving slowly downwards. Even though he knew she was in every position to slit his throat at the slightest movement, he couldn't help but shudder at the feel of her slender fingers.

"You're such an ass," Seki whispered once more, and Kiiro barely had time to feel awkward at the close contact her lips were to his face before Seki flipped Kiiro over her head, slamming his body against a pillar. Both Kiiro and the jounin yelled in protest, but Seki ignored them as she twisted her opponent's arms tighter and used her other hand (that was traveling down his back) to pull out a needle that was sticking out of a back pocket. Seki threw it a few meters away, a drop of the incapacitating poison the needle was coated in, leaking onto the ground.

-

Naruto nodded his head as the emcee jounin pronounced Houseki Raion the winner of the match. Zehi noted the rise in volume as audience members were excitedly replaying the events to each other. Some of the jounins seated below the Kages' circle seats were praising her cool demeanor that didn't get cocky once she had seemingly won the fight.

"Neither of them called for their back ups. Time just flew by," Naruto commented, noticing the loud murmurings of the crowd seated around him. Zehi chuckled.

"Or maybe both of them didn't want to call their back up."

"But don't they know that the teamwork would be taken into consideration?"

"Yes, but sometimes, people are stubborn," Zehi said, giving the Hokage a knowing glance as he watched Kiiro and Houseki leave the arena.

"People like to be recognized for their strengths, not their weaknesses. What most of them don't like to accept is that letting someone help them, is a kind of strength on its own."

Naruto grinned slightly at those words, related memories flicking through his head. He turned to agree with the Raikage, but paused at Zehi's face frowning at the arena.

"Maybe she wasn't stubborn," Zehi mumbled to himself. Naruto cocked his head in query.

"What?"

Zehi snapped out of his reverie and glanced at his friend. Smiling nervously, he shook his head.

-

Seki sat silently inside a room with white wash walls and a clean bed. Although she wasn't injured, she had not expected to use so much taijutsu in a single match; she was tired, but not too much. Seki wasn't interested in watching the other competitors, but got off the bed anyway. Neji had met up with her and Kiiro, informing them that they were only free to leave after the tournament was over, since they might still be someone else's back up.

Seki glanced at the light bulb similar to the one in the holding room, positioned over the only exit. It wasn't blinking, but she opened the door and walked down the hallway leading to the arena. She could hear the sounds of audience members shouting, and rocks crumbling as she approached another wooden door. She sat down and breathed a couple of times before pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket.

"Kiroku Kasou?" Seki whispered. She knew the person that was called after her was Hana Taikou, so she sat down and pulled out a necklace from under her top, the shuriken hanging from it reflecting off the light from the white room.

"I wish you could see me," Seki murmured to nobody.

-

Gaara walked back to his seat from his talk with Hinata, realizing that it was already in the middle of another fight as he sat down. The kunoichi had called for him when a message from the council members in Sunagakure arrived via a hawk. It meant that it was an emergency and Gaara had to spend some time deliberating over his decision. After he had sent a reply, he somehow ended up conversing with the Hyuuga girl longer than he expected. She was no longer shy and nervous around strangers, much less Gaara. The red-head had enjoyed their conversation, feeling rather proud that he had managed to sustain one without the help of his blond friend.

"Hey, sand boy! You missed an awesome fight just now!"

"Really, dobe? Who were the competitors?"

"Houseki Raion, and Kiiro Tonbo," Zehi answered for Naruto as the latter got distracted by an unusually large flower blooming in the middle of the arena. Gaara, who was halfway turning towards the fight, spun his head back so fast his sand armor crack at the neck.

"Houseki... Raion?"

"And Kiiro Tonbo. The boy lost, but didn't give up until the very end. He had water abilities, while the girl had wind, although they fought more with taijutsu. Oh, and neither of them called for their back ups. I supposed they were being stubborn, Naruto thought they had run out of time; what do you think? Gaara?"

The Kazekage's turquoise eyes widened, but they stared blankly at Zehi. The Raikage waved his hand in front of the sand-master, puzzled at his reaction.

"Gaara?"

"My apologies, I was thinking of something else. What were you saying?" Gaara regained his composure, hiding his expression completely. Zehi was suspicious at the rare sight of the shinobi zoning out, but brushed it away.

"I said, why do you think the previous two didn't call for their back ups?"

Memories of Seki suddenly filled his mind, replaying more vividly than the night he thought he saw her. Gaara wondered if it was because he missed out another chance of seeing her properly after so long.

_I don't know if it was her, and I don't know if I could stand relieving the memories._

His eyes blinked at the recollection of his own words, but that still didn't stop him from remembering the times he had trained with Seki. Her tornadoes and wind abilities blasted around his brain.

"I actually thought more about it, and its possible-"

"Maybe, they were afraid of hurting their back ups."

Zehi smiled slowly at the red head, even though he wasn't meeting the Raikage's gaze. Unknown to them, Naruto had been silent for a while, and a hidden smile was forming as his eyes were watching the fight happening below. He kept his face averted from both Kages, pretending to be still distracted by Hana Taikou's abilities as Zehi replied quietly.

"Exactly."

-

"Winners of the match: Hana Taikou and Keishi Kakaru!"

Seki let out a snort, surprised the judges had not created a method to prevent people from picking each other as back ups. Hana and Keishi already knew each other's abilities and were no match for their opponent. The other jounin-to-be actually tried to fight both of them off by herself. Seki shook her head as she peeked through the wooden door and watched the poor kunoichi be carried off on a stretcher.

"They are the reasons why kunoichis are looked down upon," Seki grumbled to herself. The walls around her shook as the arena was rebuilt to its original state. A fleeting thought crossed Seki's mind as she suddenly wanted to meet the shinobi who created the terrain. It would require a lot of chakra for an area of this size. Did he do it himself, or was he accompanied by others? In any case-

"Fourth match between Kiroku Kasou and Niji Kujaku, start!"

Seki stood up immediately at the emcee's voice, Kiroku's name resounding in the her head as she saw the splash of red light from the light bulb coming from the room.

"He's calling out his back up the moment the match starts?" Seki heard her own disbelief bouncing against the walls, but opened the door to enter the terrain she had left not too long ago. The emcee announced her arrival, just as she felt a person's presence beside her.

"Hello, Houseki."

-

* * *

**A/N:** Cliffhanger? Or not? I like Seki's fight scene, although I don't think it showcased her physical and psychological abilities very much. I think I should change the rating, since there was some sexual tension up there between Seki and Kiiro. Heh.

I have a request for anyone who's interested. I'm trying to concoct a flashback for the second test but I'm at a loss. You all know what's the first - it was mainly about how people worked at their best; with motivation. I need a second test to get the ten finalists, something that has to do with time and probably something rather intelligent.

It would be nice to hear from people, but you're not absolutely required to give a suggestion of course. Until next time XD

**Suihou no Jutsu** – Water Bubble Skill

-JE


End file.
